Cursor Made Crystal Clear · chapter 3: Your First Hour
A healthy review pass reads the files-changed list, every line of the diff, and the...
2026-11-01
Below: the paragraph from the book that builds this idea, then the diagram itself (Figure 3.2), and a recap. About a minute of reading.
None of that is a substitute for your own eyes. Open every changed file. Read every added line and every removed line, not just the ones that look unusual. Ask yourself what the change does, not just whether it compiles. If a diff touches a file you did not expect, that is information, not noise. Figure 3.2 lays out what a healthy review pass actually looks at: the list of files changed, the diff itself, the accept and reject controls, and the record of what the agent actually ran.
Recap
- The idea: A healthy review pass reads the files-changed list, every line of the diff, and the command log, and only then reaches for Accept or Reject.
- The picture: Figure 3.2, from chapter 3 ("Your First Hour") of Cursor Made Crystal Clear.
- Go deeper: the chapter builds this step by step, with recipes and sources at the end.
This diagram is one of many in Cursor Made Crystal Clear.
Every chapter opens with the gist, draws the hard ideas, and ends with recipes and sources.
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