Rules

Rules are persistent instructions that guide Cursor’s behavior in a repo (conventions, do/don’t lists, preferred patterns, validation commands).

When to use

• You want consistent conventions applied automatically (structure, naming, style)
• You want safety guardrails (no secrets, dependency policy, test requirements)
• You want Cursor to follow repo-specific architecture patterns

When not to use

• The guidance changes frequently and will become stale
• The content contains sensitive information (never put secrets in rules)

Useful guide (what to include)

• What to prefer and what to avoid
• Where things go (file/folder conventions)
• How to validate (lint/test/build commands)
• PR expectations (small diffs, tests, clear descriptions)