van-mode-map

A visual process map for VAN mode, a project-initialization workflow. It covers detecting the operating system, checking files, judging task complexity, and validating the technical setup.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when initializing a project, checking its essential structure, adapting commands to the platform, and deciding how complex the task is before coding.
Why use it?
It gives an agent checkpoints to follow before implementation, reducing the chance of using the wrong commands or starting with missing project files.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Install

Getting it into your agent

One page per mod, every tool's command on it. A separate URL per tool would split the same page into five that compete with each other.

agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/alkoleft/platform-context-exporter/van-mode-map
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/alkoleft/platform-context-exporter

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 0 Nothing until a file matches its globs; then the whole rule loads.
When invoked 7,840 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan B 1 finding. Scan, not verified.
Origin 100% copy Near-identical to another mod in the catalogue.
Token cost

What it costs to keep this loaded

Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.

ModelPer sessionOnce invoked
Fable 5 $0.00000 $0.07840
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.03920
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.01568
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00784

Measured 3d ago against content hash a0d7c7ab3f9e, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade B, and why

van-mode-map scanned grade B with 1 finding against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 3d ago.

A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.

Asks for rootmediumPrivilege escalation

A mod that escalates privileges can change anything on the machine, not only the project.

- **Permission denied**: Run terminal as administrator (Windows) or use sudo (Mac/Linux)
Origin

This is a copy

100% identical to van-mode-map — 0 lines differ, which has more behind it and is treated as the original. This page carries a canonical link to it rather than competing with it.

.cursor/rules/isolation_rules/visual-maps/van-mode-map.mdc · 902 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 902 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

VAN MODE: INITIALIZATION PROCESS MAP

TL;DR: This visual map defines the VAN mode process for project initialization, task analysis, and technical validation. It guides users through platform detection, file verification, complexity determination, and technical validation to ensure proper setup before implementation.

🧭 VAN MODE PROCESS FLOW

graph TD
    Start["START VAN MODE"] --> PlatformDetect["PLATFORM DETECTION"]
    PlatformDetect --> DetectOS["Detect Operating System"]
    DetectOS --> CheckPath["Check Path Separator Format"]
    CheckPath --> AdaptCmds["Adapt Commands if Needed"]
    AdaptCmds --> PlatformCP["⛔ PLATFORM CHECKPOINT"]
    
    %% Basic File Verification with checkpoint
    PlatformCP --> BasicFileVerify["BASIC FILE VERIFICATION"]
    BasicFileVerify --> BatchCheck["Batch Check Essential Components"]
    BatchCheck --> BatchCreate["Batch Create Essential Structure"]
    BatchCreate --> BasicFileCP["⛔ BASIC FILE CHECKPOINT"]
    
    %% Early Complexity Determination
    BasicFileCP --> EarlyComplexity["EARLY COMPLEXITY DETERMINATION"]
    EarlyComplexity --> AnalyzeTask["Analyze Task Requirements"]
    AnalyzeTask --> EarlyLevelCheck{"Complexity Level?"}
    
    %% Level handling paths
    EarlyLevelCheck -->|"Level 1"| ComplexityCP["⛔ COMPLEXITY CHECKPOINT"]
    EarlyLevelCheck -->|"Level 2-4"| CRITICALGATE["🚫 CRITICAL GATE: FORCE MODE SWITCH"]
    CRITICALGATE --> ForceExit["Exit to PLAN mode"]
    
    %% Level 1 continues normally
    ComplexityCP --> InitSystem["INITIALIZE MEMORY BANK"]
    InitSystem --> Complete1["LEVEL 1 INITIALIZATION COMPLETE"]
    
    %% For Level 2+ tasks after PLAN and CREATIVE modes
    ForceExit -.-> OtherModes["PLAN → CREATIVE modes"]
    OtherModes -.-> VANQA["VAN QA MODE"]
    VANQA --> QAProcess["Technical Validation Process"]
    QAProcess --> QACheck{"All Checks Pass?"}
    QACheck -->|"Yes"| BUILD["To BUILD MODE"]
    QACheck -->|"No"| FixIssues["Fix Technical Issues"]
    FixIssues --> QAProcess
    
    %% Style nodes
    style PlatformCP fill:#f55,stroke:#d44,color:white
    style BasicFileCP fill:#f55,stroke:#d44,color:white
    style ComplexityCP fill:#f55,stroke:#d44,color:white
    style CRITICALGATE fill:#ff0000,stroke:#990000,color:white,stroke-width:3px
    style ForceExit fill:#ff0000,stroke:#990000,color:white,stroke-width:2px
    style VANQA fill:#4da6ff,stroke:#0066cc,color:white,stroke-width:3px
    style QAProcess fill:#4da6ff,stroke:#0066cc,color:white
    style QACheck fill:#4da6ff,stroke:#0066cc,color:white
    style FixIssues fill:#ff5555,stroke:#dd3333,color:white

Read the full file on GitHub · 902 lines

Changes

What this file has done since we first saw it

Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.

  1. 3d ago First seen · 902 lines · 0 tokens per session scan B a0d7c7ab3f9e

Subscribe to this mod's changes

van-mode-map is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository alkoleft/platform-context-exporter (48 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It costs nothing until one of its globs matches a file; then it loads 7,840 tokens. A static security scan graded it B with 1 finding (asks for root). It is 100% identical to van-mode-map, differing in 0 lines, and is treated as a copy.