Cursor Rules Documentation

This file serves as both documentation for the .cursor/rules directory structure and for backward compatibility with the legacy .cursorrules approach. It also serves as an entrypoint for CLAUDE.md or other AI tools to understand the .cursor/rules folder that is the main agents knowledge base.

Structure of .cursor/rules

Rules in the .cursor/rules directory follow this structure:

• File extension: .mdc
• File format: Markdown with YAML frontmatter

Frontmatter Structure

Each rule file has a YAML frontmatter section at the top with these properties:

---
description: Brief description of what the rule does
globs: **/*.js, **/*.ts # File patterns this rule applies to
alwaysApply: true # Whether this rule should always be applied regardless of file context
---

Rule Content

After the frontmatter, the main content is markdown:

# Your rule title

- You can reference other files using @file syntax
- You can organize rules by purpose (e.g., standards, workflows)
- Rules can contain code examples, guidelines, or architectural decisions

Organization

Rules are organized in the .cursor/rules directory:

• Task-specific rules should be placed in .cursor/rules/tasks/
• General rules can be placed directly in .cursor/rules/

How Rules Are Applied

1. Rules matching the current file(s) via glob patterns are automatically included
2. Rules with alwaysApply: true are included in all contexts
3. When referencing a file that matches a rule, that rule is included as context

Creating New Rules

Use the command palette (Cmd + Shift + P) > New Cursor Rule to create a new rule file with the proper structure.

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Source: justdoinc/justdo · 170★ Repo: A source-available, agent coding ready, project management platform