formatting

Rules for formatting Markdown, a plain-text format commonly used for README files and documentation. They cover headings, code blocks, lists, tables, spacing, and Mermaid diagrams for showing architecture or sequences.

In plain words
What is it for?
Use it when creating or editing Markdown documentation. It guides heading levels, language labels for code blocks, list syntax, table alignment, and diagrams.
Why use it?
It prevents documentation from becoming inconsistent or difficult to read across different Markdown viewers. Clear structure also makes technical information easier to find and understand.

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/mitas/cursor-rules/formatting
Clone the repo
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mitas/cursor-rules

Made for: Cursor.

Per session 0 Nothing until a file matches its globs; then the whole rule loads.
When invoked 1,163 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 $0.01163
Opus 5 $0.00000 $0.00581
Sonnet 5 $0.00000 $0.00233
Haiku 4.5 $0.00000 $0.00116

Measured yesterday against content hash a7827722f09f, method: parsed. Prices are Anthropic first-party input rates as of 2026-08-30, from the pricing page.

Security

Grade A, and why

formatting 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/formatting.mdc · 187 lines

How it starts

The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 187 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.

Markdown Formatting Standards

Context

  • Ensures consistent formatting and structure in Markdown documents.
  • Helps maintain readability and professional appearance.
  • Applies to all Markdown document creation and editing.
  • Enables better documentation and knowledge sharing.
  • Creates consistent experience across different Markdown renderers.
  • A well-formatted document is the first impression of your repository.
  • Good documentation encourages adoption and collaboration.
  • Following best practices improves discoverability and usability.
  • Visual elements enhance engagement and comprehension.

Critical rules

  • Follow Markdown best practices for formatting.
  • Maintain clear document structure with proper heading hierarchy.
  • Use Mermaid UML diagrams for documenting complex sequences or architecture.
  • Maximum heading depth: 4 levels (h1-h4).
  • Indent content within XML tags by 2 spaces.
  • Code blocks must indicate the language properly after the initial 3 backticks.
  • Keep tables properly aligned with consistent spacing.
  • Use blank lines between different content blocks for readability.
  • Use proper list formatting: unordered lists with - and ordered lists with numbers.
  • Use descriptive link text rather than raw URLs.
  • Include alt text for images.
  • Keep line length under 120 characters for better readability.
  • Use fenced code blocks with language specifiers instead of indented code blocks.
  • End all sentences with a period to maintain proper grammar and readability.
  • Use proper heading capitalization (title case for h1-h2, sentence case for h3-h4).
  • Add a space after list markers (- or numbers) for consistent rendering.
  • Use consistent emphasis formatting (either * or _ for italics/bold, not mixed).
  • Use concise, scannable paragraphs with 3-5 sentences maximum.
  • Incorporate visual elements strategically:
    • Screenshots of the application in use
    • Diagrams explaining architecture or workflows
    • Logo at the top when available
  • Add relevant badges at the top (build status, version, license, etc.) for README files.
  • Provide working examples that demonstrate real-world usage.
  • Maintain a friendly, encouraging tone throughout.
  • Close with clear next steps or call-to-action.
  • Keep the entire document scannable within 2-3 minutes.
  • Include requirements and dependencies section in README files.
  • Add a troubleshooting or FAQ section for common issues when applicable.
  • Provide links to additional documentation when available.

Read the full file on GitHub · 187 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 · 187 lines · 0 tokens per session scan A a7827722f09f

Subscribe to this mod's changes

formatting is a cursor rule published in the GitHub repository mitas/cursor-rules (2 stars, last pushed 1y ago), licensed MIT. It costs nothing until one of its globs matches a file; then it loads 1,163 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 2026-08-31.