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	1.18.0
license	MIT
author	Jeremy Longshore <[e-mail]>
tags	["saas","cursor","cursor-reference"]
compatibility	Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw

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