Cursor — Rules

File format

MDC (Markdown + frontmatter)

Discovery paths

.cursor/rules, .cursorrules

Global install path

~/.cursor

Syllago install method

Symlink, Direct copy

Symlink support

Yes

Native frontmatter fields

description, alwaysApply, globs

Features

How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.

Fields

Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.

Provider field	Conversion	Canonical key	Summary
alwaysApply	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	—	alwaysApply: true injects the rule into every prompt regardless of file context; the primary Always activation mode mechanism.
description	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	—	A description-only frontmatter (no globs, no alwaysApply) lets the Agent decide when to pull the rule in based on the description text.
globs	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	—	globs frontmatter array attaches a rule automatically whenever the agent edits or reads a matching file path (e.g., src/**/*.tsx, docs/**/*.md).

Other features

Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.

Feature	Conversion	Summary
activation_mode	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Four activation modes documented: Always (alwaysApply: true injects rule into every prompt), Apply to Specific Files (globs frontmatter matches edited files via glob syntax), Apply Intelligently (description frontmatter lets the Agent determine relevance), and Apply Manually (no frontmatter triggers, referenced explicitly with @ruleName).
cross_provider_recognition	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Cursor documents AGENTS.md as an officially supported alternative to .cursor/rules/*.mdc — a plain markdown file without frontmatter metadata that is recognized and loaded alongside project rules.
file_imports	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	MDC rule bodies may reference other files via @path syntax that inlines the referenced file into the rule context.
hierarchical_loading	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Rules can live in nested .cursor/rules/ directories within a project; rules in a subtree apply when working with files under that subtree, enabling monorepo-style scoping. AGENTS.md also supports nested files in subdirectories for granular context-specific guidance.
Legacy .cursorrules file	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	A single .cursorrules file at the project root is still honored for backwards compatibility; the .cursor/rules/ directory is the current recommended layout.
MDC (Markdown + frontmatter) file format	Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more →	Rules are .mdc or .md files — Markdown bodies with YAML-style frontmatter exposing description, alwaysApply, and globs fields. Both extensions are documented.
@path file inlining inside rule bodies	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	@path tokens inside an .mdc body inline the referenced file's contents so rules can compose reusable snippets.
AGENTS.md plain markdown alternative	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Cursor officially recognizes AGENTS.md as a simpler markdown alternative to .cursor/rules/*.mdc — no frontmatter metadata required; nested AGENTS.md files in subdirectories provide granular context-specific guidance.
Manual @ruleName reference	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Rules without activation frontmatter can still be invoked explicitly by typing @<rule-name> in chat.
Nested rule directories per subtree	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Additional .cursor/rules/ directories in subfolders scope rules to that subtree — supports monorepo layouts where each package has its own rules.
Remote rules from GitHub repositories	Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more →	Rules can be imported from external GitHub repositories directly into a project, enabling shared rule sets across teams without copying files.
/create-rule slash command	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Typing /create-rule in chat scaffolds a new rule file; Cursor also surfaces rule creation through the settings UI.
Team rules via dashboard	Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more →	Enterprise plan users can enforce organization-wide rules through the Cursor dashboard with enforcement options; rules are distributed to all team members without requiring per-repo file changes.

Sources

Source
https://cursor.com/docs/rules