Agent skill · software engineering · jeremylongshore
cursor-reference-architecture
Reference architecture for Cursor IDE projects: directory structure,
Why this skill is useful
Provides specific directory structure and rules for Cursor IDE projects that enhance AI effectiveness and are not widely known.
What it needs
About 5k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-07. 2,604 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Cursor Reference Architecture Overview Organize Cursor rules, ignore files, repository guidance, and workspace boundaries so AI assistance follows architecture rather than inventing it. Prerequisites An approved repository architecture, ownership model, and data-classification policy. Maintainers authorized to review .cursor/rules, ignore files, and shared templates. Instructions 1. Put durable engineering conventions in reviewed rules and keep sensitive/generated paths in ignore files. 2. Scope rules by repository area and avoid contradictory always-on instructions. 3. Test rule and indexing changes in a representative workspace before organization-wide rollout. 4. Review these files through normal pull requests with security and architecture owners when relevant. Output A versioned Cursor configuration that maps rules and context boundaries to real repository ownership. Error Handling Condition Safe response --- --- Rules conflict Reduce them to one authoritative rule and test in a small workspace. Sensitive paths are indexed Add an ignore rule, verify exclusion, and evaluate exposure according to policy. A shared template breaks a repo Revert the configuration change and use a scoped repository override. Examples For a monorepo, commit a reviewed root rule for shared import conventions and scoped rules for each application. Add secrets, generated artifacts, and customer exports to ignore configuration, then verify a sample chat cannot attach those paths. Reference architecture patterns for optimizing Cursor IDE project setup. Covers directory structure, rules organization, indexing strategy, and multi-project configuration for maximum AI effectiveness. Project Layout for Cursor A well-structured project makes AI features significantly more effective: Why This Structure Helps Cursor 1. Glob patterns work predictably: src/api//.ts cleanly scopes API rules 2. @Files references are intuitive: @src/types/user.ts is discoverable 3. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills jeremylongshore/cursor-reference-architecture