00-system-instructions

00-system-instructions is a cursor rule for Cursor from joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator. It costs 343 tokens per session, scanned A, original, MIT.

A set of rules for an AI coding agent about when it may create files and how it should use a task list. It also specifies required checks and progress updates.

In plain words
What is it for?
It is for controlling an agent's file changes, task planning, progress reporting and command use.
Why use it?
It helps prevent unnecessary documentation or file creation and keeps work organized around tracked tasks. Some instructions apply only when task-list tools are available.

Cursor rule for Cursor

Written for Cursor: installed under .cursor/. Also seen: names the TodoWrite tool.

Good fit It is for controlling an agent's file changes, task planning, progress reporting and command use.

Compare 6 cursor rules from other repositories ↓
Install with agentmods
npx agentmods add rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions
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.

Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator

Made for: Cursor.

Wrote this? Show the measurements

A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.

agentmods badge for 00-system-instructions

README.md
[![agentmods](https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions/github.svg)](https://agentmods.dev/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions)
Your own site
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>

Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.

agentmods 80×15 button for 00-system-instructions

Your own site · 80×15
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/rules/joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator/00-system-instructions.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>
Per session 343 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 343 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. A grade says what 26 rules found in the file — not that it is safe.
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 5.1 $0.00343 $0.00343
Opus 5 $0.00171 $0.00171
Sonnet 5 $0.00069 $0.00069
Haiku 4.5 $0.00034 $0.00034

Measured 10d ago against content hash 69b7d7d60d56, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-09-10, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

00-system-instructions 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 10d 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/00-system-instructions.mdc · 37 lines

What it actually says

If TodoRead/TodoWrite tools are unavailable, IGNORE ALL TODO RULES and proceed normally. Do NOT attempt to run any other commands or tools.

BEFORE responding to ANY request, you MUST:

  1. Call TodoRead() to check current task status
  2. Plan work based on existing todos
  3. Update progress with TodoWrite() when starting/completing tasks
  4. NEVER work without consulting the todo system first

CRITICAL TODO SYSTEM RULES:

  • Only ONE task can have status "in_progress" at a time
  • Mark tasks "in_progress" BEFORE starting work
  • Complete tasks IMMEDIATELY when finished (don't batch completions)
  • Break complex requests into specific, actionable todos
  • Reference existing todos when planning new work

MANDATORY VISUAL DISPLAY:

  • ALWAYS display the complete todo list AFTER every TodoRead() or TodoWrite()
  • Use format: ✅ = completed, 🔄 = in_progress, ⏳ = pending
  • NEVER just say "updated todos" - show the full list every time
  • User must see current state after every todo operation

Every response should acknowledge todo status with "Checked todos: [brief status]" - but only when TodoRead/TodoWrite tools are available.

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. 10d ago First seen · 37 lines · 343 tokens per session scan A 69b7d7d60d56

Subscribe to this mod's changes

00-system-instructions is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository joehaddad2000/claude-todo-emulator (26 stars, last pushed 9mo ago), licensed MIT. It adds 343 tokens to every session, about $0.0017 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.