How to Write Cursor Rules

Overview

Cursor is only as good as the context it has, and an empty repo gives it none — so it guesses your conventions. This builds a project context profile aimed at Cursor: the overview, the stack-inferred conventions, a glossary, and the never-assume rules, with the install note pointing at your repo-root .cursorrules file. The example loads a TypeScript React/Node app. Open it in the Project Context Builder and switch the project details to your own; the Cursor output target writes the rules in the right place.

Workflow

1. 1
   Open the example in the tool

   It loads with realistic inputs already filled in.

2. 2
   Swap in your own details

   Adjust the inputs and options to match your case.

3. 3
   Generate and copy

   Produce the output and paste it where you need it.

Why This Works

• Cursor reads repo rules on every request, so the context travels with the code for the whole team
• Stack detection turns "React, TypeScript, Postgres" into the conventions those tools imply, automatically
• The never-assume rules stop Cursor guessing the things it gets wrong most often

Use cases

• Setting up Cursor for an existing repo
• Sharing one rules file across a team
• Stopping Cursor from breaking project conventions