error-messages

A rule for writing error messages that explain what failed, add useful context, and suggest specific fixes.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when reporting problems such as database connection failures, configuration errors, or commands that did not work.
Why use it?
It helps developers understand and resolve failures without searching through vague messages or guessing which settings to check.

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/error-messages
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jahands/prompts
Per session 9 Only the description is in the session, so the agent can decide to use it. The body loads when it is invoked.
When invoked 284 The whole file, excluding the scripts and references it only reads on demand.
Security scan B 1 finding. 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 $0.00009 $0.00284
Opus 5 $0.00005 $0.00142
Sonnet 5 $0.00002 $0.00057
Haiku 4.5 $0.00001 $0.00028

Measured 2d ago against content hash dee3cb24f329, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade B, and why

error-messages 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 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.

Asks for rootmediumPrivilege escalation

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

1. Check if PostgreSQL is running: `sudo systemctl status postgresql`
cursor-rules/test-rules/error-messages.mdc · 36 lines

What it actually says

What went wrong: The PostgreSQL connection timed out after 30 seconds.

Suggested fixes:

  1. Check if PostgreSQL is running: sudo systemctl status postgresql
  2. Verify your connection settings in .env:
    • DATABASE_HOST should be 'localhost' or your server IP
    • DATABASE_PORT should be 5432 (default)
  3. Test the connection manually: psql -h localhost -U your_username -d your_database
</example>
</examples>

</error-messages-with-context>
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 · 36 lines · 9 tokens per session scan B dee3cb24f329

Subscribe to this mod's changes

error-messages is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository jahands/prompts (19 stars, last pushed 7mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 9 tokens to every session and 284 once invoked, about $0.0000 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it B with 1 finding (asks for root). No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-08-30.