Cursor rules setup: .cursor/rules, .mdc frontmatter, globs, alwaysApply and AGENTS.md

• Project Rules: .mdc files in .cursor/rules. They are version controlled and scoped to the codebase. Subfolders are supported.
• User Rules: global preferences set in Cursor's rules settings. They apply across all projects.
• Team Rules: managed from the Cursor dashboard on Team and Enterprise plans.
• AGENTS.md: plain markdown instructions with no metadata.

Project rules must use the .mdc extension. A plain .md file in .cursor/rules is ignored by the rules system.

• Always Apply: alwaysApply: true. Included in every chat session.
• Apply to Specific Files: alwaysApply: false plus globs. Attached when a matching file is in context.
• Apply Intelligently: alwaysApply: false plus description, no globs. Agent pulls it in when relevant.
• Apply Manually: no description or globs. Used only when you @-mention it.

Separate multiple glob patterns with commas. For example, src/**/*.tsx matches .tsx files under src/.

---
globs: src/components/**/*.tsx
alwaysApply: false
---

- Use named exports, not default exports
- Keep components under 200 lines
- Prefer composition over prop drilling

---
alwaysApply: true
---

- Read the relevant source files before proposing changes
- Never modify generated files in dist/ or build/

An @file reference inside a rule tells Agent where to look. The file is not inlined, so put anything that must always be in context in the rule body.

Put AGENTS.md in the project root. Nested AGENTS.md files in subdirectories apply when working in that directory. They combine with parent files, and the more specific file wins.

• Precedence is Team Rules, then Project Rules, then User Rules. All rules merge, and earlier sources win on conflicts.
• User Rules apply only to Agent, not to Inline Edit.
• Rules do not affect Cursor Tab.
• Keep each rule under 500 lines and split large ones into smaller rules.