This is basically how I roll as well.

I did have cursor build an example fastapi project (which didn't work at first) just to sort of give me a jump start on learning the framework.

I messed around with that, got it to work, learnes enough about how it works that I was then comfortable starting from scratch in a different project.

I kind of treat the local AI as a knowledge base. Short questions with examples. Mostly that just then lets me know what sort of stuff to look for in the real documentation, which is what actually solves my issues.