Show Notes
Parker shows how to spin up an Apple Notes MVP in about five minutes using Cursor and v0, then wires it into a Next.js + Shadcn UI setup. It’s a practical look at AI-assisted scaffolding and rapid UI assembly.
Tools and setup
- Cursor (a fork of VS Code) for the editor and AI prompts
- v0 (an AI-driven code generator) to output app code from natural language prompts
- Next.js as the app framework
- Shadcn UI for components and styling
- Optional: Cursor “projects” for multi-file workflows and “cloud sync” planning
Key Cursor setup (quick tips)
- Models: disable unused models; enable code-focused ones (example: CLAE 3.5 and newer O1s; adjust to what you have)
- Features: enable Cursor tab, composer, and make sure your codebase is indexed
- Docs: add third-party API/docs with a “new Doc” entry, and start from the docs’ relevant sections for better precision
- Long chat and AI review: turn these on for iterative refinement
How v0 is used to generate the app
- Core idea: prompt v0 with a simple goal, e.g., “Make Apple notes,” and let it generate code in iterations
- Iteration flow your prompts can look like:
- v0 outputs a first version trying to satisfy the request
- You guide it with references (e.g., “make it look like this screenshot”)
- Do multiple passes (the video shows four versions to reach a solid result)
- The breakthrough moment: you copy the resulting code block from v0 and drop it into your editor, then integrate it into your Next.js app
What you’ll typically end up with
- A ready-to-run Apple Notes component with:
- A notes list (left rail) with pinning and live updates
- A rich text area that supports styling
- Basic delete and edit capabilities
- The “magic sauce” is adding the component to your codebase and wiring it into a page
Wiring the UI with Next.js and Shadcn UI
- After v0 outputs the component, install and wire up Shadcn UI components
- Use Next.js as the app shell to host the page that renders the generated Apple Notes component
- Expect some libraries to show a browser-only red warning if they can’t run in the browser; plan for that in your UI
Suggested flow
- Scaffold Next.js app (if you don’t already have one)
- Install Shadcn UI per the official docs
- Paste the v0 output into a page (e.g., AppleNotes.jsx/tsx) and adjust imports
- Iterate on styling and component structure as needed
Cursor projects and multi-file workflows
- Use Cursor “projects” to group related files (e.g., Apple Notes core, Cloud Sync logic, UI components)
- This helps you keep related code together and makes it easier for v0 to reason about the project
- Example: create a Cloud Sync project and add files that handle database interaction and syncing logic
Editor workflow and quick edits
- Inline edits: Command K to edit in place
- Split editing: Command Shift L to move edits to the right pane
- Break into components: Command Shift I to open a pane for multi-file/component editing
- Composer projects: Use the composer flow (Command Shift I) to open a project-focused workspace
Building toward a Cloud Sync MVP
- Create a project named something like Cloud Sync
- Add files that address syncing notes to a database or remote store
- When your AI-generated chat or prompts reference Cloud Sync, you’ll have the focused files ready
Practical takeaways
- AI-driven scaffolding can produce a working MVP in minutes; the hard part is iterating to a polished UX
- Maintain Prompts and Documentation
- Keep a dedicated cursor rules file at the repo root to guide AI behavior
- A well-crafted rules file helps keep AI responses aligned with your architecture
- Use a project-centric workflow to keep generated code organized and extensible
- Watch for browser-only libraries (red indicators) and plan graceful fallbacks or SSR-friendly alternatives
Quick caveats
- The red indicator in the UI signals a library that can’t run in the browser; you’ll need to adjust dependencies or lazy-load features
- AI-generated code usually needs human refinement for edge cases, but the scaffolding buys you huge time
What the final MVP looks like
- A responsive notes app with:
- Left-hand notes list with pinning and updates
- Right-hand editor area with inline styling
- Capable of creating, editing, and deleting notes
- A path to extend with cloud syncing and extra features via additional files and components
Next steps
- Try the same approach on a small project: pick a simple MVP idea and generate the core UI with v0
- Add a dedicated cursor rules file to your repo to stabilize AI prompts
- Explore Cursor’s directory for more prompts and patterns to speed up future setups
Links
- Cursor: https://cursor.sh/
- v0: https://v0.dev/ (AI-driven code generation platform)
- Next.js: https://nextjs.org/
- Shadcn UI: https://ui.shadcn.com/ (installation and usage guides)
- Shadcn UI docs (patterns and components): https://ui.shadcn.com/docs