January 30, 2025
5 min read

How to Generate Your Own Cursor Rules

Written by [object Object]

By Kevin Kernegger

Coding has come a long way, and so have the tools we use. Enter Cursor Rules, a feature in Cursor AI that makes coding faster, cleaner, and more consistent.

By creating your own rules, you can guide the AI to write code your way, whether that means following specific project standards, naming conventions, or formatting rules.

Before we start, make sure you know the basics of Cursor by checking out my step by step article.

1. My Nuxt 3 + Nuxt Ui .cursorrules

2.What Are Cursor Rules?

Cursor rules are custom instructions you write for the AI in Cursor AI. They tell the AI how to format, structure, and style your code. Think of it like teaching an assistant your personal preferences:

  • Always follow your coding standards.

  • Keep your team’s style consistent.

  • Save time by automating repetitive tasks.


3. Why Should You Use Cursor Rules?

Save Time

Cursor rules speed up coding by automating things like naming conventions, formatting, and boilerplate code.

Enforce Standards

You can make sure all your code looks the same, no matter who wrote it.

Boost Efficiency

Spend less time fixing inconsistencies and more time building features.


4. How Do Cursor Rules Make Coding Easier?

Boost Efficiency

Let’s face it, repetitive tasks are boring. Cursor rules handle things like formatting, comments, and naming patterns so you can focus on solving real problems.

Enforce Coding Standards

Sometimes, remembering every little project rule is hard. Cursor rules do that for you, making sure your code follows guidelines and stays clean.


5. How to Write Your Own .cursorrules

If you want to create custom rules for your project (especially for less common frameworks or languages), here’s a quick guide:

  • Use Perplexity: Ask: “Give me the latest [year, month] best practices and most useful features for [language/framework].”

  • Use GPT-4 or Claude: Start by setting a clear role: “You are an expert in [language/framework]. Your goal is to create concise rules that capture the most important information while minimizing token usage.”

  • Define the Rules Step by Step: Include all necessary details for the language or framework. Cover key areas like formatting, naming conventions, and best practices. Add guidelines for the latest features and standards.

  • Format the Output: Use a plain text format that’s ready for copy-paste. Avoid symbols like * or #. Use lists formatted with - only.

  • Make a .cursorrules File: Create a file called .cursorrules in your project’s root directory. Write your rules in plain language, no complex syntax needed.

This guide isn't perfect, but it gives you a solid starting point.


6. Why Are Cursor Rules Great for Teams?

Keeping Projects Consistent

In large projects, consistency matters. Cursor rules ensure every line of code looks the same, no matter who’s working on it.

Helping New Developers

Junior developers don’t need to memorize every coding rule. Cursor rules guide them to follow project standards without the guesswork.


7. Language-Specific Cursor Rules

Swift Projects

  • Enforce Apple’s Swift API Design Guidelines.

  • Set rules for SwiftUI components to keep your UI code clean and organized.

  • Use rules to follow patterns like Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) for better structure.

Python Projects

  • Enforce PEP 8 (Python’s style guide) to keep your code neat.

  • Use Pydantic for data validation—a quick way to prevent bugs.

  • Generate automatic documentation for functions and classes.


8. Benefits of Cursor Rules

Automate Repetitive Tasks

Stop wasting time formatting code, renaming variables, or writing boilerplate. Cursor rules handle the boring stuff for you.

Prevent Errors

Cursor rules catch small mistakes early, so you don’t spend hours debugging later.

Enforce Best Practices

Whether it’s architectural patterns like MVVM or coding styles like PEP 8, Cursor rules make sure your code follows best practices.

Improve Team Collaboration

In large teams, coding styles can drift. Cursor rules keep everyone on the same page, making code reviews faster and projects more consistent.


9. Customizing Cursor Rules for Your Workflow

Every team works differently, and that’s okay. Cursor rules can be tailored to fit your project, framework, or workflow.

  • Examples: Set rules for React projects to follow component naming patterns. Enforce conventions for Django or Laravel frameworks.


10. How Cursor Rules Speed Up Coding

Automate Documentation

Generate comments for classes, methods, and functions automatically.

Save Tokens

Avoid unnecessary back-and-forth with the AI. Cursor rules make it smarter from the start.

3 Reduce Manual Cleanup

No more fixing inconsistent spacing, naming, or formatting by hand.


11. Cursor Rules: Streamlining Your Coding Workflow

Coding has come a long way, and so have the tools we use. Enter Cursor Rules, a feature in Cursor AI that makes coding faster, cleaner, and more consistent.

By creating your own rules, you can guide the AI to write code your way, whether that means following specific project standards, naming conventions, or formatting rules.


12. Advanced Features of Cursor Rules

Enforce Structured Code

Cursor rules can ensure your code follows a clear flow or logical structure, which makes it easier to maintain.

Cursor Directory

Looking for ready-to-use rules? If you're looking for ready-to-use cursor rules, you can find them in the Cursor Directory.


13. Conclusion

Cursor rules give you control over how AI writes and formats your code. Whether you’re a solo developer or part of a large team, they help you:

  • Automate repetitive tasks.

  • Enforce coding standards.

  • Keep projects consistent.

By tailoring Cursor rules to your needs, you’ll write cleaner code, save time, and boost your overall workflow.

Have a look at the rest of my Cursor guides:

- How to keep your code private with Cursor AI

- How to use Cursor with a large codebase

- 5 Cursor pro tips for rapid MVP development

- How to add custom documentation in Cursor AI

- How to sync Cursor AI with Xcode Projects

Happy coding!🚀