cursor-reference-architecture

name	cursor-reference-architecture
description	Reference architecture for Cursor IDE projects: directory structure, rules organization, indexing strategy, and team configuration patterns. Triggers on "cursor architecture", "cursor project structure", "cursor best practices", "cursor file structure".
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit, Bash(cmd:*)
version	1.0.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
compatible-with	claude-code, codex, openclaw
tags	["saas","cursor","cursor-reference"]

Cursor Reference Architecture

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:

my-project/
├── .cursor/
│   └── rules/
│       ├── project.mdc          # alwaysApply: true (stack, conventions)
│       ├── security.mdc         # alwaysApply: true (security constraints)
│       ├── typescript.mdc       # globs: "**/*.ts,**/*.tsx"
│       ├── api-routes.mdc       # globs: "src/api/**/*.ts"
│       ├── database.mdc         # globs: "src/db/**/*.ts,prisma/**"
│       └── testing.mdc          # globs: "**/*.test.ts,**/*.spec.ts"
├── .cursorignore                # Exclude from AI + indexing
├── .cursorindexingignore        # Exclude from indexing only
├── .gitignore
├── src/
│   ├── api/                     # API routes
│   ├── services/                # Business logic
│   ├── db/                      # Database layer
│   ├── types/                   # Shared TypeScript types
│   ├── utils/                   # Utility functions
│   └── components/              # UI components
├── tests/
├── prisma/
├── docs/                        # Architecture docs (good for @Docs)
└── package.json

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. Indexing is focused: clear separation of code vs build output vs data
4. Rules inheritance: project-level always-on + directory-scoped rules

Rules Architecture

Layer 1: Always-On Global Rules

# .cursor/rules/project.mdc
---
description: "Core project context and conventions"
globs: ""
alwaysApply: true
---
# SaaS Dashboard Application

Stack: Next.js 15 (App Router), TypeScript 5.7