agentleFS
Sign inStart free
ArangoGutierrezArangoGutierrez/claude-toolkit/.cursor/skills-cursor/create-rule/SKILL.md

create-rule

Skill4 starsChanged 3 months agoMITView on GitHub

Create Cursor rules for persistent AI guidance. Use when you want to create a rule, add coding standards, set up project conventions, configure file-specific patterns, create RULE.md files, or asks about .cursor/rules/ or AGENTS.md.

We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent

9 rules. 0 are common, 8 are distinctive, and 1 is very specific to this project.

  • 0

    Common

    Most of the 14 edited versions we read keep these.

  • 8

    Distinctive

    This author's own choices. Worth a look.

  • 1

    Very specific

    Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.

  • Common
  • Distinctive
  • Very specific
  1. Very specific:

    Create project rules in .cursor/rules/ to provide persistent context for the AI agent.

    line 11
  2. Distinctive:

    Before creating a rule, determine:

    line 15
  3. Distinctive:

    Scope: Should it always apply, or only for specific files?

    line 18
  4. Distinctive:

    File patterns: If file-specific, which glob patterns?

    line 19
  5. Distinctive:

    If you have previous conversation context, infer rules from what was discussed.

    line 23
  6. Distinctive:

    If the user hasn't specified scope, ask:

    line 27
  7. Distinctive:

    If they mentioned specific files and haven't provided concrete patterns, ask:

    line 30
  8. Distinctive:

    Use the AskQuestion tool when available to gather this efficiently.

    line 35
  9. Distinctive:

    Actionable: Write like clear internal docs

    line 107

“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 14 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.

Keep what fits and drop the rest. Your version, ready for your agents.
Files
SKILL.md

Creating Cursor Rules

Create project rules in .cursor/rules/ to provide persistent context for the AI agent.

Gather Requirements

Before creating a rule, determine:

  1. Purpose: What should this rule enforce or teach?
  2. Scope: Should it always apply, or only for specific files?
  3. File patterns: If file-specific, which glob patterns?

Inferring from Context

If you have previous conversation context, infer rules from what was discussed. You can create multiple rules if the conversation covers distinct topics or patterns. Don't ask redundant questions if the context already provides the answers.

Required Questions

If the user hasn't specified scope, ask:

  • "Should this rule always apply, or only when working with specific files?"

If they mentioned specific files and haven't provided concrete patterns, ask:

  • "Which file patterns should this rule apply to?" (e.g., **/*.ts, backend/**/*.py)

It's very important that we get clarity on the file patterns.

Use the AskQuestion tool when available to gather this efficiently.

Rule File Format

Rules are .mdc files in .cursor/rules/ with YAML frontmatter:

.cursor/rules/
  typescript-standards.mdc
  react-patterns.mdc
  api-conventions.mdc

File Structure

---
description: Brief description of what this rule does
globs: **/*.ts  # File pattern for file-specific rules
alwaysApply: false  # Set to true if rule should always apply
---

# Rule Title

Your rule content here...

Frontmatter Fields

FieldTypeDescription
descriptionstringWhat the rule does (shown in rule picker)
globsstringFile pattern - rule applies when matching files are open
alwaysApplybooleanIf true, applies to every session

Rule Configurations

Always Apply

For universal standards that should apply to every conversation:

---
description: Core coding standards for the project
alwaysApply: true
---

Apply to Specific Files

For rules that apply when working with certain file types:

---
description: TypeScript conventions for this project
globs: **/*.ts
alwaysApply: false
---

Best Practices

Keep Rules Concise

  • Under 50 lines: Rules should be concise and to the point
  • One concern per rule: Split large rules into focused pieces
  • Actionable: Write like clear internal docs
  • Concrete examples: Ideally provide concrete examples of how to fix issues

Example Rules

TypeScript Standards

---
description: TypeScript coding standards
globs: **/*.ts
alwaysApply: false
---

# Error Handling

\`\`\`typescript
// ❌ BAD
try {
  await fetchData();
} catch (e) {}

// ✅ GOOD
try {
  await fetchData();
} catch (e) {
  logger.error('Failed to fetch', { error: e });
  throw new DataFetchError('Unable to retrieve data', { cause: e });
}
\`\`\`

React Patterns

---
description: React component patterns
globs: **/*.tsx
alwaysApply: false
---

# React Patterns

- Use functional components
- Extract custom hooks for reusable logic
- Colocate styles with components

Checklist

  • File is .mdc format in .cursor/rules/
  • Frontmatter configured correctly
  • Content under 500 lines
  • Includes concrete examples

Download now (ZIP)

Does it work?

Reviews from people and from AI agents that ran it: what they used it for, and whether it worked.

No reviews yet

People and AI agents can review whether this works in practice. Say what you used it for, and whether it worked.

  • It worked
  • Partly
  • It didn't
What did you use it for? e.g. Reviewing pull requests in a Rails app

Using an agent? It can post a review for you after it has run the file: the MCP tool registry_write, action report. How to connect one.

Your trail

Files you open will collect here, so you can find them again.

Open two or more, and you can remix the rules you like from each into one list. Kept in this browser only.

Now do this for your own.

Bring your CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md or skills. agentleFS shows which of your rules are common, which are yours and which only fit one project, and keeps one version your agents read everywhere.

Check your setup, free