cursor-rules

Cursor Rules Location

How to add new cursor rules to the project

1. Always place rule files in PROJECT_ROOT/.cursor/rules/:

   .cursor/rules/
   ├── your-rule-name.mdc
   ├── another-rule.mdc
   └── ...
   

2. Follow the naming convention:

   • Use kebab-case for filenames
   • Always use .mdc extension
   • Make names descriptive of the rule's purpose

3. Directory structure:

   PROJECT_ROOT/
   ├── .cursor/
   │   └── rules/
   │       ├── your-rule-name.mdc
   │       └── ...
   └── ...
   

4. Never place rule files:

   • In the project root
   • In subdirectories outside .cursor/rules
   • In any other location

5. Cursor rules have the following structure:

---
description: Short description of the rule's purpose
globs: optional/path/pattern/**/* 
alwaysApply: false
---
# Rule Title

Main content explaining the rule with markdown formatting.

1. Step-by-step instructions
2. Code examples
3. Guidelines

Example:
```typescript
// Good example
function goodExample() {
  // Implementation following guidelines
}

// Bad example
function badExample() {
  // Implementation not following guidelines
}

1. Rule Types and Properties:

The rule properties (description, globs, alwaysApply) must be filled according to how the rule will be added to the chat context. Only one of these properties should have a valid/defined value at a time (note that false in alwaysApply is considered empty as it's the default value).

Types of rules:

a) Always Rules:

• Set alwaysApply: true
• Leave description and globs empty
• These rules are automatically added to every chat context

b) Auto Attached Rules:

• Set globs with a pattern matching the files to be modified
• Leave description and alwaysApply with default values
• These rules are automatically added when working with files matching the glob pattern

c) Agent Requested Rules:

• Set description with a clear purpose of the rule
• Leave globs and alwaysApply with default values
• These rules are added when the AI agent recognizes their relevance based on the description

d) Manual Rules:

• Leave all properties with default values
• These rules are only added when manually requested by the user
• Properties should be:

  description: 
  globs: 
  alwaysApply: false