# Ship a small client tool in 90 minutes: the Cursor build for non-coders Source: https://getstartedwithai.net/tutorials/cursor-for-non-coders-90-min Site: Get Started With AI Tagline: Build AI automations that actually run your business. Audience: solo professionals, freelancers, consultants and AI implementers in training Contact: hello@getstartedwithai.co.uk This Markdown companion is generated from the prerendered page for AI crawlers. # Ship a small client tool in 90 minutes: the Cursor build for non-coders A small Stripe MRR dashboard live at a Vercel URL inside 90 minutes is the build this tutorial walks through. No code typed. Cursor handles the writing through Composer Agent, you handle the briefing and the testing. The output is real Next.js code in real files, not a no-code template, which means the project graduates cleanly when the work outgrows the prototype. Solo professionals who can describe what they want but not write the syntax close that gap with this build, and the same shape ships dozens of internal client tools that previously needed a developer. ## Prep before you build (10 minutes) - A laptop running Mac, Windows or Linux. - A Cursor account at cursor.com. Free to start; Pro from about £16 a month for the project work in this tutorial. - A clear idea of what you want to build. "A small dashboard that shows my Stripe MRR" is buildable. "A CRM" is too vague. - 90 minutes uninterrupted. ## What Cursor is and what it is not - It is: a desktop editor with a chat interface that reads, writes and runs your project code. - It is not: a no-code builder. The output is real code in real files; you are commanding the AI to write it. - It is: powerful enough to ship real production tools. - It is not: necessary for every project. For a simple website, Lovable or Bolt.new are easier. ## Pricing in April 2026 - Hobby: free with limited usage. - Pro at £16 a month: unlimited Tab completions, £16 monthly credits for premium models, unlimited Auto mode. Right starting plan. - Pro+ at £48 a month: more credits for heavy users. - Ultra at £160 a month: pro use, all models unlimited. - Business at £32 per seat per month: team features. ## Step 1: Install Cursor and pick the project (10 minutes) 1. Download Cursor from cursor.com. Install. Sign in. 2. Create a new folder on your Desktop called my-mrr-dashboard. 3. In Cursor: File, Open Folder. Select the new folder. 4. You now have an empty project ready for the agent to populate. ## Step 2: Open Composer and brief the build (15 minutes) 1. Press Cmd-I (Mac) or Ctrl-I (Windows) to open Composer. 2. Mode: Agent. This lets the AI write across multiple files. 3. Prompt: "Create a small Next.js dashboard that displays my monthly recurring revenue. Connect to the Stripe API using a key in a .env.local file. Show MRR, churn rate and new customer count this month. Use Tailwind for styling. Keep it simple." 4. Review the file plan Composer proposes. It will create app/page.tsx, app/api/mrr/route.ts, package.json, etc. 5. Click Accept All. Composer writes the files. ## Step 3: Install dependencies and run (10 minutes) 1. In Cursor's integrated terminal: npm install. Wait for the install to finish. 2. Add your Stripe test API key to .env.local: STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_test_... 3. Run: npm run dev. Open the URL Cursor prints in the terminal. 4. You should see a basic dashboard. The numbers may be zero if your test account has no data; that is fine. ## Step 4: iterate with the agent (30 minutes) A first build is rarely the final build. Iterate by talking to Composer. - Refine: "Add a chart showing MRR by month for the last 6 months." - Style: "Use a dark theme with a teal accent colour, matching #00E0B0." - Fix: "When the API returns null, show a friendly empty state instead of an error." - Each Composer prompt produces a diff you review and accept. Roll back if a change broke something using Cmd-Z or Composer undo. ## Step 5: deploy to Vercel (15 minutes) 1. Sign up for Vercel (free) at vercel.com. 2. Push the project to GitHub: in Cursor terminal, git init, git add, git commit, then create a repo and push. 3. In Vercel, Import the GitHub repo. Add the Stripe environment variable, then deploy. 4. Vercel returns a URL once the deploy succeeds; open it. Your dashboard is live. 5. Total time: about 80 minutes for a non-coder. ## Step 6: Use Cursor for help when stuck (10 minutes) - When something errors: paste the error into the chat. Cursor identifies the cause and offers a fix. - When you want to add a feature: describe it in English. "Add a CSV export button" is a valid prompt. - When you want to understand the code: ask "Explain how the API route works." Cursor reads the file and explains. - When you want to test: ask "Write three tests for the MRR calculation." Cursor adds them. ## What you ship A working internal dashboard live at a Vercel URL. Real Next.js code in a GitHub repo your developer can take over later. About 80 minutes of build time on a project that would have needed a contractor day at £600 to £1,000. ## What to build next Pair this with the Claude Code practitioner guide for ops jobs that do not need a UI, and the Lovable tutorial for shareable web apps with auth and a database. ## Related builds More tutorials in Vibe Coding. Each one runs in 60 to 90 minutes and ships a finished asset. ### Ship code changes in a day, not a week: the practitioner Claude Code build 60 to 90 minutes. Solo Pro / Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/claude-code-practitioner-guide) ### Ship a working app in an afternoon: the Lovable build 90 minutes. Solo Pro / Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/lovable-ship-app-in-afternoon) ### Demo a client-facing tool in an hour: the Bolt.new prototype build 90 minutes. Implementer. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/bolt-new-prototype-client-tools) ### Ship a useful tool on Replit in 90 minutes: the AI build for non-coders 90 minutes. Solo Pro. [Open tutorial](/tutorials/replit-ai-non-coder-build) ## Questions people ask before they start ### Do I need to know any coding? No, but it helps. You will read code Cursor writes and decide if it makes sense. After 5 to 10 builds you will recognise patterns even without writing them yourself. ### How much do API costs add to the £16 a month? For typical usage (50 to 200 prompts a week), the £16 monthly credit covers it. Heavy users on premium models burn through credits in a fortnight; consider Pro+ at £48/mo if Auto mode is not enough. ### What if Cursor breaks my project? Use git. Commit before any Composer change you are unsure about. If the change breaks things, git checkout reverts. Cursor also has built-in undo per change. ### Is this safer than letting AI write production code? Cursor is one of the safer setups because you review every change in a diff before accepting. Test in development, deploy after manual review. Do not let the AI auto-deploy. ### How much should I charge to ship a Cursor build for a client? Custom internal tools are £1,200 to £6,000 implementer builds. Scope, build, deploy, hand over.