Issue 1 · Philadelphia · Thursday, July 16, 2026

Cafe Cursor

Build together, leave with something.

10:00 AM – 3:00 PMPercy Diner & Bar, 1700 N Front St, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Welcome

What is Cafe Cursor?

A relaxed daytime co-work session for builders to share what you're shipping and meet other Cursor users in Philly.

This is nota talk night or a formal workshop. It's an open space to build together: bring your laptop, grab food or drinks, and co-work through the afternoon on a side project, debug with someone new, or swap workflows with other developers, designers, and founders.

Whether you're looking for a chill spot to make progress on something you've been putting off, or you just want to hang out and meet the community — this is the place.


Day of

Schedule & logistics

No presentations, no strict agenda. Come for the whole window or drop in for a couple of hours.

Schedule

  • 10:00 AMDoors open — food and drinks, settle in
  • 10:00 AM – 2:45 PMOpen co-work, share what you're building, hallway chat
  • 2:45 – 3:00 PMWrap-up

What to expect

  • Casual co-working and hallway-style conversation
  • Share what you're building (or just listen in)
  • Cursor credits available for attendees (limited — first come, first served)
  • Food and drinks provided
  • Physical AR zine (Issue 1) — scan pages with your phone for AR layers

What to bring

  • Your laptop (and charger)
  • A hotspot or phone with tethering, in case the wifi is spotty
  • Whatever you're working on — or come ready to start something new
  • Good vibes and a willingness to build, ask questions, and chat

Who should attend

  • Developers, designers, and founders using Cursor or curious about AI-powered building
  • Anyone with a side project, startup idea, or "finally ship this" backlog
  • First-timers welcome — curious is enough

Starter projects

Pick a repo, throw it into Cursor

Clone one of these curated starters — or bring your own repo. Each has a one-click Open in Cursor link.

Issue 1 featured

AR zine starter

WebAR zine: print pages, scan with your phone, AR layers appear. MindAR + A-Frame, no app install.

Best for
Creative builders, designers curious about AR, anyone who wants a guided Cursor project
Time
1–3 hours to customize a page and deploy
Prereqs
Node.js for compiling targets; Vercel account for phone testing (HTTPS)
terminal
$
git clone https://github.com/luiscielak/zine-ar.git && cd zine-ar

Business OS starter

Dashboard scaffold for founders and solo builders. Type `new-os` in chat to onboard.

Best for
Founders, operators, side hustles
Time
30–60 min onboarding + iteration
Prereqs
Comfortable opening a project in Cursor
terminal
$
git clone https://github.com/luiscielak/business-os-starter.git && cd business-os-starter

AI product design rules

Design-led workflow: `/new-project` → lo-fi → mid-fi → hi-fi prototypes.

Best for
Designers, product leads, PMs
Time
1–2 hours for a first prototype
Prereqs
Cursor installed; design thinking helpful
terminal
$
git clone https://github.com/luiscielak/ai-product-design-rules.git && cd ai-product-design-rules

Not sure which to pick? Physical + fun → AR zine · Business dashboard → Business OS · App UI → AI product design · Full attendee hub on GitHub


The goal

By the end, you'll have this

Leave with something real — not just notes. Pick a starter and ship.

AR zine starter

A deployed WebAR zine page you can scan on your phone

Get started

Business OS starter

A running business dashboard you can iterate on weekly

Get started

AI product design rules

A clickable product prototype you can share with stakeholders

Get started

Throw the link into Cursor or your builder of choice — then ship alongside the room.


Co-work prompts

Copy-paste into Chat

Pick a prompt for open build time — or bring your own backlog. The Grill Me workflow surfaced in three breakout groups at the June 2026 meetup.

Grill Me your side project

Grill me on my plan for [describe project] before we write any code. Ask about edge cases, auth, empty states, and what success looks like. Don't implement until I approve your summary.

Approve the plan

I want to build [feature]. Write a short plan with acceptance criteria. Grill me on it. After I approve, implement only what we agreed — flag any drift at the end.

Ship something small

I have 90 minutes. Help me ship the smallest useful version of [idea] — one screen, one API call, or one automation. No scope creep.

Design → prototype

I have a rough idea for [app]. Run /new-project style discovery: who it's for, core flow, then a clickable HTML prototype. I'm a designer, not a daily coder.

Learn the codebase

I'm new to this repo. Walk me through the architecture by asking me what I already know, then explain the gaps. Don't refactor anything.

Debug with the room

I'm stuck on [error or behavior]. Help me form a minimal repro and a one-paragraph explanation I can ask someone at the next table about.


New to Cursor?

Getting started

First Cafe Cursor? You only need a laptop and curiosity — but having Cursor installed before you arrive saves setup time.

  1. 1

    Download Cursor

    Get it from cursor.com

  2. 2

    Sign in and open a folder

    Any project, or fork a starter below

  3. 3

    Open Chat or Agent

    Use the sidebar to ask questions or ship features

At Cafe Cursor: no formal workshop — work on whatever you brought, or pick a prompt above. Stuck? Ask the room. Cursor quickstart


Perk

Cursor credits

Limited Cursor credits are available for attendees — first come, first served at check-in.

  1. Check in when you arrive. A volunteer will confirm your RSVP.
  2. Ask for credits at the check-in table if you want a link.
  3. Open the link on your own device — each link is single-use.
  4. Redeem by following the prompts. If anything fails, ask at check-in or on Discord.

Credit links are not printed on the zine or posted publicly. Credits are a thank-you perk, not a ticket requirement. The event is free.


Feedback

How was Cafe Cursor?

Tell us what you shipped, what worked, and what we should improve for Issue 2.

Survey coming soon

The feedback form will appear here once the Airtable embed URL is added to content/cafe.config.ts. Set surveyEmbedUrl to your Airtable form embed link.