Build The InstaLite Core Flow
Explore how to build the InstaLite core app flow by planning the project setup, scaffolding with Flask and Cursor, running the app, and implementing key social features like posting, liking, commenting, and deleting within a connected workflow.
Our project idea is clear. Now we can begin turning that idea into a working app. That first step matters because a social product only starts to feel real once we can move beyond the empty workspace and see actual posts, interactions, and visible product behavior.
Since we are building inside Cursor, we are not only asking for interface changes. We are also shaping the workspace, the setup, and the app structure as we go. That makes planning, scaffolding, and feature building feel like one connected flow.
Note: Build along in Cursor
Keep Cursor open while going through this lesson and try each prompt along the way. Cursor may not return the exact same wording, package versions, file layout, or port number every time. Even so, the result should stay close to the same product goal, and we will use our own build path here as a concrete example.
Plan the project setup
The first useful step is not jumping straight into feature generation. Since InstaLite starts in an empty workspace, we need Cursor to help us think through the setup before we ask it to build the app itself. That gives us a clearer path and reduces the chance of messy early decisions. Lets give Cursor the prompt below.
Prompt:
We are starting a new project called InstaLite in an empty folder.
Project overview:
InstaLite is a small Instagram style web app for practice. The app is for people who want to share simple image posts with captions in a clean social feed. In this project, we want to build a small but polished social app step by step using Cursor.Stack:
Flask
SQLAlchemyFor now, do not start writing the full app yet.
Help me plan the project setup and the first build step clearly.
Please do these things:
Briefly restate the project so we are aligned.
Tell me exactly what dependencies, tools, and setup steps we need before coding.
Keep the plan focused only on getting ready to build the app.
This prompt works well because it does three important things before any code is generated.
It defines the project clearly.
It names the stack without overexplaining the implementation.
It tells Cursor to stay in planning mode instead of jumping ahead.
Here we can see the complete cursor response for the above prompt:
Cursor responds with a practical setup plan. It restates InstaLite as a small ...