self_improve

A set of rules for improving Cursor rules, which are instructions that guide the Cursor coding assistant, as new code patterns and recurring problems appear.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it to review code for missing standards, decide when to add or change a rule, and keep rules aligned with the project's libraries and practices.
Why use it?
It turns repeated implementation patterns, review comments, and preventable bugs into shared guidance for future work.

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/localrivet/gomcp/self_improve
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/localrivet/gomcp

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 530 This file is loaded in full into every session.
When invoked 530 The same file — it is already loaded in full.
Security scan A 0 findings. Scan, not verified.
Origin 100% 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 $0.00530 $0.00530
Opus 5 $0.00265 $0.00265
Sonnet 5 $0.00106 $0.00106
Haiku 4.5 $0.00053 $0.00053

Measured 2d ago against content hash b1ad380d15cc, 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 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.

Origin

This is a copy

100% identical to self_improve — 0 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 · 73 lines

What it actually says


description: Guidelines for continuously improving Cursor rules based on emerging code patterns and best practices. globs: */ alwaysApply: true

  • Rule Improvement Triggers:

    • New code patterns not covered by existing rules
    • Repeated similar implementations across files
    • Common error patterns that could be prevented
    • New libraries or tools being used consistently
    • Emerging best practices in the codebase
  • Analysis Process:

    • Compare new code with existing rules
    • Identify patterns that should be standardized
    • Look for references to external documentation
    • Check for consistent error handling patterns
    • Monitor test patterns and coverage
  • Rule Updates:

    • 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
  • Example Pattern Recognition:

    // If you see repeated patterns like:
    const data = await prisma.user.findMany({
      select: { id: true, email: true },
      where: { status: 'ACTIVE' }
    });
    
    // Consider adding to [prisma.mdc](mdc:.cursor/rules/prisma.mdc):
    // - Standard select fields
    // - Common where conditions
    // - Performance optimization patterns
    
  • Rule Quality Checks:

    • Rules should be actionable and specific
    • Examples should come from actual code
    • References should be up to date
    • Patterns should be consistently enforced
  • Continuous Improvement:

    • Monitor code review comments
    • Track common development questions
    • Update rules after major refactors
    • Add links to relevant documentation
    • Cross-reference 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 Updates:

    • Keep examples synchronized with code
    • Update references to external docs
    • Maintain links between related rules
    • Document breaking changes Follow cursor_rules.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. 2d ago First seen · 73 lines · 530 tokens per session scan A b1ad380d15cc

Subscribe to this mod's changes

self_improve is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository localrivet/gomcp (51 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It adds 530 tokens to every session, about $0.0027 per session on Opus 5. A static security scan graded it A with 0 findings. It is 100% identical to self_improve, differing in 0 lines, and is treated as a copy.