self_improve

Rules for keeping Cursor coding instructions current as the codebase develops.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use them to add, revise, link, or retire rules based on changes and patterns found in the repository.
Why use it?
They help capture repeated patterns, recurring review feedback, common bugs, and updated practices instead of letting project rules become outdated.

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/jpke/cursor-vibe-coding-template/self_improve
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jpke/cursor-vibe-coding-template

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 377 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 377 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin 86% copy Near-identical to another mod 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 $0.00377 $0.00377
Opus 5 $0.00188 $0.00188
Sonnet 5 $0.00075 $0.00075
Haiku 4.5 $0.00038 $0.00038

Measured yesterday against content hash 3db34c634295, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

self_improve 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 yesterday.

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.

Origin

This is a copy

86% identical to self_improve — 102 lines differ, which has more behind it and is treated as the original. This page carries a canonical link to it rather than competing with it.

.cursor/rules/self_improve.mdc · 55 lines

What it actually says

Rule Improvement Triggers

  • New code patterns not covered by existing rules
  • Repeated implementations across 3+ files
  • Common error patterns that could be prevented
  • New libraries/tools being used consistently
  • Emerging best practices in the codebase

When to Update Rules

Add New Rules When:

  • A new technology/pattern is used in 3+ files
  • Common bugs could be prevented by a rule
  • Code reviews repeatedly mention the same feedback
  • New security or performance patterns emerge

Modify Existing Rules When:

  • Better examples exist in the codebase
  • Additional edge cases are discovered
  • Related rules have been updated
  • Implementation details have changed

Rule Quality Assurance

  • Rules should be actionable and specific
  • Examples should come from actual code
  • References should be up to date
  • Patterns should be consistently enforced
  • Cross-reference related rules

Continuous Improvement Process

  • Monitor code review comments
  • Track common development questions
  • Update rules after major refactors
  • Add links to relevant documentation
  • Maintain links between related rules

Rule Deprecation

  • Mark outdated patterns as deprecated
  • Remove rules that no longer apply
  • Update references to deprecated rules
  • Document migration paths for old patterns

Documentation Maintenance

  • Keep examples synchronized with code
  • Update references to external docs
  • Maintain links between related rules
  • Document breaking changes

Follow rule_management.mdc for proper rule formatting and structure.

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. yesterday First seen · 55 lines · 377 tokens per session scan A 3db34c634295

Subscribe to this mod's changes

self_improve is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository jpke/cursor-vibe-coding-template (16 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It adds 377 tokens to every session, about $0.0019 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. It is 86% identical to self_improve, differing in 102 lines, and is treated as a copy.