cursor-rules

A set of guidelines for writing Cursor rules, which are instructions that shape how Cursor behaves in a code project. It favors short rule structures with examples only when they add value.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when creating or updating Cursor rules for coding standards, project context, requirements, and good or bad examples.
Why use it?
It helps keep project instructions clear and compact, so they guide the agent without adding unnecessary text.

Cursor rule

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/jahands/prompts/cursor-rules
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jahands/prompts
Per session 13 Only the description is in the session, so the agent can decide to use it. The body loads when it is invoked.
When invoked 2,508 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin original No closer match found 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 $0.00013 $0.02508
Opus 5 $0.00006 $0.01254
Sonnet 5 $0.00003 $0.00502
Haiku 4.5 $0.00001 $0.00251

Measured 2d ago against content hash 254a9ff9d86d, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

cursor-rules scanned grade A with 0 findings 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 2d 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.

Nothing flagged

None of the 26 patterns this scan looks for appear in this file: no shell pipes, no recursive deletes, no credential paths, no hidden text, no instruction-override or anti-refusal phrasing, no agent-config snooping. That is not a guarantee, it is the absence of the things that are checkable.

cursor-rules/cursor-rules.mdc · 457 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 457 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

START WITH THE SIMPLEST STRUCTURE THAT CLEARLY CONVEYS YOUR RULE

Remember: Empty sections add tokens but no value. Less structure often communicates more clearly.

That's it. Don't add sections unless they add real value.

<rule-name>

<title>Rule Title</title>

<rules>
- First requirement
- Second requirement  
- Third requirement
</rules>

<examples>
<example type="good">
```typescript
// Good code example

For most rules, you're done. Only add more sections if the rule is genuinely complex.

<rule-name>

<title>Rule Title</title>

<context>
<applies-to>Where this rule applies</applies-to>
</context>

<overview>High-level explanation</overview>

<key-concepts>
- Important concept
- Another concept
</key-concepts>

<rules>
<rule>
<name>Rule name</name>
<requirements>
- Requirement
- Another requirement
</requirements>
</rule>
</rules>

<examples>
<example type="good">
```typescript
// Code

Read the full file on GitHub · 457 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. 2d ago First seen · 457 lines · 13 tokens per session scan A 254a9ff9d86d

Subscribe to this mod's changes

cursor-rules is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository jahands/prompts (19 stars, last pushed 7mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 13 tokens to every session and 2,508 once invoked, about $0.0001 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.