readme-documentation

A set of writing rules for README files and documentation pages. A README is the main guide that explains what a software project does and how to use it.

In plain words
What is it for?
Writing or reviewing sections such as installation, usage, configuration, API details, deployment, contributing, and licensing in README or documentation files.
Why use it?
It helps keep project documentation complete, structured, and short enough to navigate.

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/jimmypocock/cursor-rules/readme-documentation
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jimmypocock/cursor-rules

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 818 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 818 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
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 $0.00818 $0.00818
Opus 5 $0.00409 $0.00409
Sonnet 5 $0.00164 $0.00164
Haiku 4.5 $0.00082 $0.00082

Measured 2d ago against content hash c227c5d51815, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

readme-documentation 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/readme-documentation.mdc · 103 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 103 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.


Description: Best practices for README and project documentation Globs: **/README.md, /docs//*.md

README Documentation Standards

@base.mdc

README Structure

  • Begin with a clear, concise project title
  • Include a brief description directly under the title
  • Add badges for build status, version, license, etc. when applicable
  • Structure with clear, hierarchical headings
  • Include a table of contents for longer READMEs
  • Use visual elements (screenshots, diagrams) when they add value
  • End with relevant supplementary sections (license, contributing, etc.)
  • Keep the main README under 1000 lines; link to docs/ for details

Essential Sections

  • Introduction - What the project is and its primary purpose
  • Features - Key capabilities, preferably as a bulleted list
  • Installation - Step-by-step instructions for getting started
  • Usage - Basic examples showing common use cases
  • Configuration - Environment variables and settings
  • API Documentation - For libraries and services
  • Deployment - Instructions for deploying to production
  • Contributing - How others can contribute to the project
  • License - The project's license information

Documentation Style

  • Write in a clear, direct style with active voice
  • Use consistent formatting for commands, code, and outputs
  • Highlight important notes and warnings using blockquotes or admonitions
  • Include version-specific information when relevant
  • Maintain a friendly, helpful tone throughout
  • Use proper Markdown formatting for improved readability
  • Include anchors for deep linking to specific sections
  • Keep code examples concise but complete

Code Examples

  • Include complete, working examples
  • Use syntax highlighting with proper language tags
  • Show both simple and advanced use cases
  • Include expected output when applicable
  • Comment code examples for clarity
  • Ensure examples are up-to-date with current API
  • Use consistent style across all examples
  • Test all examples to ensure they work as documented

Read the full file on GitHub · 103 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 · 103 lines · 818 tokens per session scan A c227c5d51815

Subscribe to this mod's changes

readme-documentation is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository jimmypocock/cursor-rules (8 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It adds 818 tokens to every session, about $0.0041 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 2026-08-31.