core

A set of Rails 8 development rules covering framework choices, data models, routes, background jobs, caching, real-time features, and asset handling.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when designing or changing Rails 8 models, controllers, routes, databases, jobs, caches, WebSockets, and assets.
Why use it?
It helps an agent follow Rails conventions and use Rails 8's built-in features consistently across the application.

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/levifig/rails-instructions/core
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/levifig/rails-instructions

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 0 Nothing until a file matches its globs; then the whole rule loads.
When invoked 1,322 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 $0.00000 $0.01322
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.00661
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.00264
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00132

Measured yesterday against content hash 7cca9703e0e0, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

core 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.

.cursor/rules/rails/core.mdc · 192 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 192 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Rails 8 Core Principles Guide

Core Philosophy

  • Follow Rails conventions religiously - they exist for good reasons
  • Embrace the monolith - most applications don't need microservices
  • Use Rails 8's built-in features before reaching for external gems
  • Write code that's a joy to work with, not just functional
  • Optimize for developer happiness and productivity

Rails 8 Stack Defaults

  • Use SQLite for development and production by default
  • Leverage Solid Queue for background job processing
  • Implement Solid Cache for caching with database backend
  • Use Solid Cable for WebSocket connections
  • Embrace Propshaft for asset pipeline simplicity

Framework Principles

  • Convention over configuration in all decisions
  • Database-driven design with Active Record at the center
  • RESTful resources and routes by default
  • Server-side rendering with Hotwire enhancements
  • Progressive enhancement over client-side complexity

Model Design Principles

  • Keep models focused on data integrity and business rules
  • Use Active Record validations extensively
  • Implement scopes for common query patterns
  • Add database indexes for foreign keys and frequently queried columns
  • Use concerns for shared behavior across models

Model Best Practices

  • Include schema annotations in all model files
  • Order model contents consistently: constants, includes, associations, validations, callbacks, scopes, methods
  • Keep callbacks minimal - consider service objects for complex logic
  • Use dependent: options on associations to maintain referential integrity
  • Implement proper counter caches for performance

Controller Principles

  • Keep controllers thin and focused on HTTP concerns
  • Use before_action filters for common setup and authorization
  • Respond to multiple formats (HTML, Turbo Stream, JSON) appropriately
  • Follow REST conventions for action names
  • Handle errors gracefully with proper HTTP status codes

Controller Patterns

  • Use strong parameters for all user input
  • Prefer redirect_to with notice/alert over render after mutations
  • Implement resourceful routes whenever possible
  • Keep business logic out of controllers
  • Use concerns for shared controller behavior

Read the full file on GitHub · 192 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. yesterday First seen · 192 lines · 1,322 tokens per session scan A 7cca9703e0e0

Subscribe to this mod's changes

core is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository levifig/rails-instructions (54 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It costs nothing until one of its globs matches a file; then it loads 1,322 tokens. 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.