importmaps

A set of instructions for using Rails Import Maps, which let web browsers load JavaScript modules directly without a bundling or compilation step. It covers dependency setup, file organization, and naming.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when adding JavaScript libraries, Stimulus controllers, reusable components, or helper modules to a Rails application that uses Import Maps.
Why use it?
It gives an AI coding agent consistent rules for managing JavaScript in a Rails project. This reduces confusion about where files belong and how libraries should be referenced and versioned.

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/importmaps
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 803 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 $0.00803
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.00402
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.00161
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00080

Measured yesterday against content hash c3032d001251, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

importmaps 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/importmaps.mdc · 106 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 106 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Rails Import Maps Guide

Core Philosophy

  • Eliminate JavaScript build steps while maintaining modern development practices
  • Send JavaScript modules directly to the browser without bundling or transpiling
  • Reference external modules using standardized module specifiers
  • Embrace simplicity and developer happiness - this is the Rails Way™

Configuration Principles

  • Define all JavaScript dependencies in config/importmap.rb
  • Pin external libraries to specific versions for production stability
  • Use semantic versioning when pinning dependencies
  • Prefer CDN URLs for popular libraries to leverage browser caching
  • Vendor critical dependencies that cannot tolerate CDN failures
  • Always specify preload: true for essential modules

File Organization

  • Keep all JavaScript files in the app/javascript directory
  • Use controllers/ subdirectory exclusively for Stimulus controllers
  • Create components/ for reusable UI JavaScript modules
  • Create utilities/ for shared helper functions
  • Follow Rails naming conventions consistently

Naming Conventions for AI Agents

  • Name Stimulus controllers with *_controller.js suffix
  • Use descriptive nouns for component files (modal.js, dropdown.js)
  • Use action-based names for utilities (debounce.js, format_currency.js)
  • Maintain consistent naming patterns across the codebase
  • Document module purpose at the top of each file

Module Management

  • Import modules using standard ESM syntax
  • Avoid polluting the global namespace
  • Use named exports for better code discoverability
  • Keep modules focused on a single responsibility
  • Export only what needs to be public

Dependency Management

  • Pin to exact versions in production for stability
  • Use version ranges only in development
  • Regularly audit and update dependencies
  • Remove unused dependencies promptly
  • Document why each dependency is needed

Performance Optimization

  • Use preload: true only for critical dependencies
  • Implement lazy loading for features not needed on initial load
  • Leverage browser caching by using CDN URLs
  • Evaluate module size before adding dependencies
  • Consider vendoring large libraries that change infrequently

Read the full file on GitHub · 106 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 · 106 lines · 0 tokens per session scan A c3032d001251

Subscribe to this mod's changes

importmaps 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 803 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.