project-editor-profile

name	project-editor-profile
description	Generates editor-agnostic workspace settings from a .editor/profile.json manifest: .vscode/settings.json, extensions.json, and Cursor workspaceOpen plugin loading. Use when setting up per-project extensions, Cursor plugins, editor defaults, or porting workspace config to new repos.

Project editor profile

Maintain a single manifest (.editor/profile.json) and generate editor files that VS Code, Cursor, and VSCodium all understand. Keeps extensions/plugins scoped to the stack instead of loading every global install.

Example in this repo: .editor/profile.json → run pnpm editor:sync.

---

Layout

.editor/
  profile.json           # Project manifest (stack, extensions, cursor plugins, settings)
  defaults.settings.json # Shared baseline merged into every project
.vscode/                 # Generated — commit to git
  settings.json
  extensions.json
.cursor/                 # Generated — commit to git
  hooks.json             # workspaceOpen → load-workspace-plugins.mjs
scripts/
  sync-editor-profile.mjs   # Regenerate .vscode + .cursor/hooks.json
  load-workspace-plugins.mjs  # Hook: emit pluginPaths from profile

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Workflow checklist

- [ ] 1. Detect stack (package.json, configs, test runners)
- [ ] 2. Edit .editor/profile.json (extensions, cursor.plugins, settings overrides)
- [ ] 3. Run: pnpm editor:sync (or node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs)
- [ ] 4. Reload window; accept recommended extensions when prompted
- [ ] 5. Confirm Cursor plugins load (hooks) or install missing marketplace plugins
- [ ] 6. Commit .editor/, .vscode/, .cursor/hooks.json

---

Step 1: Detect stack

Signal	File / dep	Typical extensions	Unwanted (other stacks)
Next.js	next, next.config.*	Biome, Tailwind CSS IntelliSense	ESLint, Prettier (legacy)
React	react, react-dom	ESLint	—
TypeScript	typescript, tsconfig.json	Biome; use workspace typescript.tsdk	—
Tailwind	tailwindcss, @tailwindcss/postcss	Tailwind CSS IntelliSense	—
Playwright	@playwright/test, playwright.config.*	Playwright	—

E2E browser (this repo): Playwright drives system Brave Beta (playwright.brave.ts), not playwright install chromium. See tests/e2e/README.md and root AGENTS.md. | pnpm | pnpm-lock.yaml, packageManager | — | npm-only tooling | | Python | pyproject.toml, requirements.txt | Python, Pylance | (if absent, unwanted Python) | | Rust | Cargo.toml | rust-analyzer | (if absent, unwanted Rust) | | Svelte | svelte, .svelte | Svelte + Cursor svelte plugin | — |

Do not recommend extensions for stacks the repo does not use — reduces attack surface and UI noise (audit-ide-dependencies).

---

Step 2: Edit profile.json

Minimal shape:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "stack": ["next", "typescript", "pnpm"],
  "extensions": {
    "recommend": ["dbaeumer.vscode-eslint"],
    "unwanted": ["rust-lang.rust-analyzer"]
  },
  "cursor": {
    "plugins": [
      { "name": "shadcn", "publisher": "cursor-public", "optional": true }
    ]
  },
  "settings": {
    "eslint.useFlatConfig": true
  }
}

• extensions.recommend → .vscode/extensions.json recommendations (VS Code/Cursor prompt to install).
• extensions.unwanted → unwantedRecommendations (discourage irrelevant global extensions).
• cursor.plugins → resolved under $CURSOR_HOME/plugins/cache/<publisher>/<name>/<hash>/ by load-workspace-plugins.mjs on workspaceOpen (Cursor hooks).
• settings → merged over .editor/defaults.settings.json into .vscode/settings.json.

---

Step 3: Generate

pnpm editor:sync
# or: node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs

Never hand-edit generated .vscode/settings.json long-term — change profile.json and re-sync.

Formatter / extension settings (important)

Cursor validates editor.defaultFormatter against installed extensions only. If ESLint is only recommended but not installed, use built-ins in profile.settings:

• vscode.typescript-language-features — TS/JS format
• vscode.json-language-features — JSON

Put extension-only keys in .editor/profile.extensions.json (merged by editor:sync only when that extension exists under ~/.cursor/extensions/). devprofile uses Biome (biomejs.biome) for lint + format — not ESLint.

---

Step 4: Good defaults (baseline)

defaults.settings.json already sets:

• 2-space indent, final newline, trim whitespace
• File nesting for package.json / lockfiles / configs
• TypeScript import preferences and move-update-imports
• Sensible git/terminal defaults

Override per project in profile.settings only when needed (e.g. eslint.useFlatConfig, Tailwind v4 experimental.configFile, Playwright reuse browser).

devprofile baseline: Biome formatter/linter, workspace TypeScript SDK, .next / test output excludes. Tailwind/Playwright extension keys merge from profile.extensions.json when installed.

---

Step 5: Cursor vs VS Code

Feature	VS Code / Cursor	Notes
Workspace settings	.vscode/settings.json	Same JSON schema
Extension recommendations	.vscode/extensions.json	Cursor uses same file
Cursor marketplace plugins	.cursor/hooks.json + load-workspace-plugins.mjs	Requires plugin installed in Cursor once; hook loads cache path per workspace
User settings	~/.config/Cursor/User/settings.json	Global — do not duplicate project overrides here

Optional: symlink agent skills per AGENTS.md; unrelated to profile.json.

---

Step 6: New project / extend

1. Copy .editor/defaults.settings.json and scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs, scripts/load-workspace-plugins.mjs.
2. Add "editor:sync": "node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs" to package.json.
3. Author .editor/profile.json from stack table above.
4. Run pnpm editor:sync and commit outputs.

For monorepos, use one profile at the root or per-package profiles with separate sync invocations (node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs from each package after adjusting paths — extend script if needed).

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Anti-patterns

• Putting project-only settings in global Cursor settings.json
• Recommending every extension you personally use globally
• Hand-editing .vscode/settings.json without updating profile.json
• Listing Cursor plugins in profile.json that were never installed from the marketplace (use "optional": true or install first)
• Running npm audit fix inside ~/.cursor/extensions (audit-ide-dependencies)

Related skills

• audit-ide-dependencies — audit extension/plugin CVEs under ~/.cursor
• fix-dependency-security — project pnpm audit, SFW installs

References

• VS Code workspace settings
• Extension recommendations
• Cursor hooks — workspaceOpen
• Cursor plugins