One of the most frustrating things to do is to use the terminal to run the same commands again and again to start and close your frontend and the backend servers. In small projects it is easy to manage and redo but as the projects grow large and there are multiple services to mangage, this becomes redundant.

Solution: .vscode/tasks.json

A simple trick to solve this problem is to use a tasks.json file to manage your services inside of vscode. Just create a .vscode (hidden) folder inside your project and create a tasks.json file inside it. Paste the following code inside the json file:

{
    "version": "2.0.0",
    "tasks": [
        {
            "label": "Run Frontend",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "cd frontend && npm run dev",
            "group": "build",
            "problemMatcher": []
        },              
        {
            "label": "Run Backend",
            "type": "shell",
            "command": "cd backend && source .venv/bin/activate && uvicorn main:app --reload",
            "group": "build",
            "problemMatcher": []
        },
        {
            "label": "Run Full Stack",
            "dependsOn": ["Run Backend", "Run Frontend"],
            "dependsOrder": "parallel",
            "group": {
                "kind": "build",
                "isDefault": true
            }
        }
    ]
}

Note: The script assumes that you have a python fastapi backend and a react or next js frontend. It activates the virtual environment in the backend and then starts the server. You must preinstall teh frontend and the backend requirements.

How to use

After the script has been created, you can use it in one of the following ways:

1. From the terminal options on the top -> run build task. OR
2. Enter combination ‘ctrl+shit+p’ then run build task. Using this the terminals and the servers start automatically. No need to manually type in the commands again and again.

This simple script can be extended to run and manage other services as well like celery, flower etc. Feel free to use or extend it. Suggestions are welcome. Feel free to reach out to my email in case of any queries or issues: ‘hassanrasool1057@gmail.com’

This post serves as a quick reference for common Docker container commands. The commands are organized in a table format for easy copying and use.

Container Commands

n8n (Workflow Automation Tool)

Create persistent volume:

docker volume create n8n_data

Run container:

docker run -it --rm \
  --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n

Notes

• The commands above use common best practices for running containers
• Volume mounts (-v) are used to persist data
• Port mappings (-p) expose container ports to the host
• Container names are set using --name for easy reference
• Remove the --rm flag if you want the container to persist after stopping

Tips

1. Always use meaningful container names for easier management
2. Consider using Docker Compose for more complex setups
3. Check container logs using docker logs <container_name>
4. Use docker ps to list running containers
5. Use docker volume ls to list all volumes

Feel free to suggest more container commands to add to this reference!

📅 Last updated: June 2025
✍️ Author: Hassan Rasool
🧑‍💻 TL;DR: Download the AppImage, copy-paste this script, and you’re done!

🚀 Yes, You Can Use Cursor on Linux!

Cursor is an amazing AI-first code editor built on VS Code — but sadly, there’s no official Linux version yet.

The good news? It takes less than 2 minutes to make it work perfectly on Linux. Just:

1. Download the latest .AppImage from cursor.so/download
2. Run the script below
3. Boom — Cursor launches like a native app 🎉

✅ What This Script Does

• Extracts the AppImage (so you don’t need FUSE)
• Fixes sandbox permissions (so it doesn’t crash)
• Adds Cursor to your launcher (so you can search & open it easily)

• Automatically adds the app icon (so you don’t have to)

📜 One-Command Setup Script

Just copy and paste this into your terminal:

#!/bin/bash

# 🚀 Super simple Cursor setup for Linux
set -e

APP_NAME="cursor"
INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin/$APP_NAME"
DESKTOP_FILE="$HOME/.local/share/applications/$APP_NAME.desktop"
APPIMAGE_PATH="$HOME/Downloads/Cursor-*.AppImage"

echo "✨ Installing Cursor..."

# Make sure the AppImage exists
APPIMAGE_FILE=$(ls $APPIMAGE_PATH 2>/dev/null | head -n 1)
if [ ! -f "$APPIMAGE_FILE" ]; then
  echo "❌ Could not find Cursor AppImage at $APPIMAGE_PATH"
  echo "📦 Download it from: https://www.cursor.so/download"
  exit 1
fi

# Extract AppImage
chmod +x "$APPIMAGE_FILE"
mkdir -p "$INSTALL_DIR"
"$APPIMAGE_FILE" --appimage-extract
mv squashfs-root/* "$INSTALL_DIR"

# Fix chrome-sandbox permissions
if [ -f "$INSTALL_DIR/chrome-sandbox" ]; then
  echo "🔐 Fixing sandbox..."
  sudo chown root:root "$INSTALL_DIR/chrome-sandbox"
  sudo chmod 4755 "$INSTALL_DIR/chrome-sandbox"
fi

# Find a good icon
ICON_PATH="$INSTALL_DIR/cursor.png"
ICON_CANDIDATES=(
  "$INSTALL_DIR/usr/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/cursor.png"
  "$INSTALL_DIR/resources/app/assets/icon.png"
)
for icon in "${ICON_CANDIDATES[@]}"; do
  if [ -f "$icon" ]; then
    cp "$icon" "$ICON_PATH"
    break
  fi
done

# Create .desktop launcher
mkdir -p "$(dirname "$DESKTOP_FILE")"
cat > "$DESKTOP_FILE" <<EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Cursor
Exec=$INSTALL_DIR/AppRun
Icon=$ICON_PATH
Type=Application
Categories=Development;IDE;
StartupNotify=true
EOF

update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications

echo "✅ Done! You can now launch Cursor from your app menu or by running:"
echo "$INSTALL_DIR/AppRun"

📎 Or Download It Directly

Right-click & save this: 👉 install-cursor.sh

Then just run:

chmod +x install-cursor.sh
./install-cursor.sh

🧠 Notes & Tips

• No root needed, except for fixing the sandbox once
• If you update Cursor, just re-run this script with the new .AppImage
• This script works with almost any modern Linux distro

💬 Questions? Feedback?

Feel free to comment or share this link! You can also tweak the script for advanced setups or create a pull request to improve it 💡