Testing Gemini 3.8 Flash in Cursor with a CRM Smoke Test

Melvin Vivas · X post · 2026-09-03 · Open on X

Topics: Evaluation (Evals) & Testing, AI Dev Tools & Productivity · Level: intermediate

Summary

The creator tested Gemini 3.8 Flash in Cursor using his own CRM app 'smoke test'. It was fast and built every requested feature, but it made a UI mistake on a modal background. He finds it worth trying and will keep testing it on real work.

Key points

• Keep a personal smoke-test app (here a CRM) for judging new models the same way each time.
• Pros: Gemini 3.8 Flash is fast and implemented all the requested features.
• Cons: it made a UI mistake on the modal background, which he says frontier models shouldn't make anymore.
• Verdict: worth trying; keep testing on real work before switching.

Resources mentioned

• Gemini Flash · tool · deepmind.google · free
  Google's fast, low-cost Gemini model, suited to auxiliary tasks like web browsing and vision.
  Also in: Gemini 3.8 Flash Available in Cursor CLI (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Models That Work With the Hermes Agent for Personal Productivity (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Cut Hermes Agent Token Costs with Gemini Flash as an Auxiliary Model (Melvin Vivas on X · notes)
• Cursor · tool · x.com · free · recommended by both Bashiri Smith & Melvin Vivas
  AI-native code editor (VS Code with AI built in).
  Also in: GLM 5.3 and GLM 5.3 Flash now in Cursor (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Grok Bot Can Now Hand Off Coding Tasks to Cursor (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Why Plan Mode Still Matters in AI Coding Assistants (Codex, Claude, Cursor) (Melvin Vivas on X · notes), Why Plan Mode Still Matters in AI Coding Agents (Codex, Claude, Cursor) (Melvin Vivas on X · notes) and 121 more

Try this

• Try Gemini 3.8 Flash for coding and check the UI details it produces.
• Test new models on your own repeatable smoke-test app.
• Build a small CRM app as a reusable smoke test for comparing coding models.