cursor-project-starter

name

cursor-project-starter

description

Generates a complete Cursor AI IDE project starter kit — 7 documents — from a brainstorming conversation with the user. Use this skill whenever the user wants to start a new project, says "let's start a new project", "I have a project idea", "help me plan a new app/system/tool", "set up my Cursor project", or wants to brainstorm and immediately get working project files. Also trigger when the user says things like "I want to build X from scratch" or "help me plan out X before I start coding". Always use this skill proactively when a new project is being initiated — don't wait for the user to ask for documentation explicitly.

Cursor Project Starter Kit

Generates 7 structured project documents through a brainstorming interview, ready to drop into Cursor (or any AI IDE) so the AI understands the full project from the start.

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The 7 Documents This Skill Produces

File	Purpose
PRD.md	Product Requirements — features, goals, metrics, risks
technical-spec.md	Architecture, tech stack, functions, API details
app-flow.md	User journeys, system states, edge cases
schema.md	Database/data structure — all tables/collections + columns
implementation-plan.md	Phased build checklist with tasks and checkboxes
README.md	Project index — explains every file, how to use in Cursor
.cursorrules	Cursor AI rules — code style, naming, patterns, anti-patterns

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Step 1 — Brainstorm Interview

Before writing any documents, conduct a structured interview. Ask ALL of these questions in a single conversational message (not one at a time). Group them naturally.

Core Questions

What is the project?

• What does it do in one sentence?
• Who are the users (primary + secondary)?
• What problem does it solve?

Tech Stack:

• What language/runtime? (e.g., Python, Node.js, Google Apps Script, React)
• What database or storage? (e.g., PostgreSQL, Firestore, Google Sheets, MongoDB)
• What external APIs or services? (e.g., OpenAI, Stripe, WhatsApp, Google Maps)
• Any hosting/deployment target? (e.g., Vercel, GCP, AWS, serverless)

Features:

• What are the 3–5 core features for MVP?
• What is explicitly OUT OF SCOPE for now?
• Any "nice to have" features?

Data:

• What are the main data entities? (e.g., users, orders, products, sessions)
• What fields does each entity need?

Flows:

• Walk through the main user journey step by step
• Are there admin/owner flows separate from customer flows?
• What are 2–3 key edge cases or failure scenarios?

Constraints:

• Timeline or deadline?
• Cost constraints (free tier only? budget ok?)
• Any security or compliance requirements?

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Step 2 — Fill Gaps & Confirm

After the user answers:

• Infer anything not explicitly stated (e.g., if they say "React app", infer Vite/Next.js as likely choice)
• Ask for clarification ONLY on blockers (missing DB choice, unclear primary user)
• Summarize your understanding in 3–5 bullet points
• Ask: "Does this match your vision? Ready to generate the files?"

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Step 3 — Generate All 7 Documents

Generate all files in sequence. Write each one completely before moving to the next. Use the templates in templates/ as structural guides — replace all placeholder content with the user's actual project details.

Generation order:

1. PRD.md — establish requirements first (everything else references this)
2. technical-spec.md — architecture derived from PRD
3. schema.md — data model derived from tech spec
4. app-flow.md — user journeys referencing the features in PRD
5. implementation-plan.md — phased tasks referencing all above
6. .cursorrules — rules derived from tech stack and patterns established above
7. README.md — index file written last (references all others)

Quality checks per document:

• No placeholder text like [FILL IN] or YOUR_VALUE left in final output
• Tech stack must be consistent across ALL documents
• Function names in .cursorrules must match function names in technical-spec.md
• Schema column names in schema.md must match references in technical-spec.md
• All phase tasks in implementation-plan.md should reference the correct companion doc

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Step 4 — Package & Deliver

Save all 7 files to /mnt/user-data/outputs/ in a flat structure (no subfolder needed). Present them to the user with present_files.

Tell the user:

"Drop all these files into your Cursor project root folder. Cursor will auto-detect .cursorrules. Then start prompting with references like: 'Read PRD.md and technical-spec.md, then write the [function name] function'"

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Document Templates

See templates/ folder for the structural template of each document. Read the relevant template before generating that document.

• templates/PRD-template.md
• templates/technical-spec-template.md
• templates/app-flow-template.md
• templates/schema-template.md
• templates/implementation-plan-template.md
• templates/cursorrules-template.md
• templates/README-template.md

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Key Principles

• Project-specific, not generic — every document must feel written FOR this project, not copy-pasted
• Cross-referenced — documents must refer to each other (e.g., implementation-plan references PRD phases)
• Cursor-optimized — README must include ready-to-use Cursor prompt examples specific to the project
• No server assumption — if user didn't mention a server, default to serverless/managed options
• Indian context awareness — if project targets India, default to INR, Indian phone format (+91), UPI/Razorpay, Aadhaar-aware considerations where relevant