| name | cursor-context-management |
| description | Optimize context window usage in Cursor with @-mentions, context pills, and conversation strategy.
Triggers on "cursor context", "context window", "context limit", "cursor memory", "context management",
"@-mentions", "context pills".
|
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Bash(cmd:*) |
| version | 1.18.0 |
| license | MIT |
| author | Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io> |
| tags | ["saas","cursor","cursor-context"] |
| compatibility | Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw |
Cursor Context Management
Optimize how Cursor AI uses context to produce accurate, relevant responses. Context is everything the model sees when generating a response -- managing it well is the single biggest lever for output quality.
Context Sources
Cursor assembles context from multiple sources before each AI request:
┌─ Always Included ─────────────────────────────────────┐
│ System prompt (Cursor internal) │
│ Active .cursor/rules/*.mdc with alwaysApply: true │
│ Current file (for Tab, Inline Edit) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ Conditionally Included ──────────────────────────────┐
│ Selected code (highlighted before Cmd+L/Cmd+K) │
│ @-mention targets (@Files, @Folders, @Code) │
│ Glob-matched rules (.mdc with matching globs) │
│ Conversation history (prior turns in chat) │
│ Open editor tabs (lightweight reference) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─ On-Demand (explicit @-mention) ──────────────────────┐
│ @Codebase → semantic search across indexed files │
│ @Docs → crawled external documentation │
│ @Web → live web search results │
│ @Git → uncommitted diff or branch diff │
│ @Lint Errors → current file lint diagnostics │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Context Pills
Active context appears as pills at the top of the Chat/Composer panel:
[main.ts] [src/utils/] [@Web: next.js 15] [Rule: typescript-standards]
- Click a pill to expand and see its contents
- Click
x on a pill to remove it from context
- Adding too many pills fills the context window, degrading response quality
@-Mention Strategy by Task
Code Understanding
@src/auth/middleware.ts @src/types/user.ts
Explain how the JWT validation works and what happens when a token expires.
Use @Files for specific files. Avoid @Folders unless you need the full directory -- it consumes a lot of context.
Bug Investigation
@src/hooks/useCart.ts @Lint Errors @Recent Changes
The cart total is NaN after the latest changes. What broke?
@Recent Changes + @Lint Errors gives the model forensic context.
Architecture Questions
@Codebase where are database queries made?
@Codebase triggers semantic search across the indexed codebase. Good for discovery when you do not know which files are relevant. Costs more context than targeted mentions.
