Cursor IDE & .cursorrules Cheatsheet: The Complete Reference

Cursor has rapidly become the dominant AI-first code editor for modern development. By blending standard VS Code mechanics with deep LLM orchestration, it allows engineers to write, refactor, and audit code at unprecedented speeds.

This reference sheet covers the essential keyboard shortcuts, AI context steering commands, and provides a production-grade .cursorrules template to align Cursor with your specific stack.

1. Core AI Keyboard Shortcuts

Mastering these shortcuts is the fastest way to accelerate your daily workflow.

2. Context Modifiers (@ Symbols)

Use these modifiers inside Chat (Cmd+L), Inline Edit (Cmd+K), or Composer (Cmd+I) to constrain the AI’s attention and prevent hallucination.

3. Writing the Perfect .cursorrules File

Committing a .cursorrules file to your project root forces Cursor’s AI model to follow strict coding standards, preventing generic or outdated boilerplate.

Standard Production .cursorrules Template

Below is a production-grade template tailored for modern TypeScript, Astro, and Tailwind CSS environments:

{
  "settings": {
    "frameworks": ["Astro", "React"],
    "styling": "TailwindCSS v4",
    "packageManager": "pnpm"
  },
  "rules": {
    "typescript": {
      "prefer": "interfaces over types",
      "strictNullChecks": true,
      "explicitReturnTypes": false
    },
    "coding_standards": [
      "Always write clean, dry, and modular component designs.",
      "Separate business logic from presentational components.",
      "Keep functions small and focused on a single responsibility.",
      "Avoid deeply indented conditional blocks; use early returns instead.",
      "Do not write inline imports; define imports at the top of the file."
    ],
    "naming_conventions": {
      "components": "PascalCase (e.g., PostCard.astro)",
      "utilities": "camelCase (e.g., dateUtils.ts)",
      "folders": "kebab-case (e.g., blog-components/)",
      "constants": "UPPER_SNAKE_CASE (e.g., MAX_ITEMS)"
    },
    "styling_rules": [
      "Use utility-first Tailwind classes.",
      "Order classes logically: Layout (flex, grid) -> Sizing (w, h) -> Spacing (p, m) -> Typography -> Design (bg, border) -> Interactive (hover, focus).",
      "Do not write custom CSS in style blocks unless tailwind classes are insufficient."
    ],
    "ai_response_guidelines": {
      "tone": "terse, professional, pragmatic",
      "code_only_when_requested": false,
      "explain_before_code": true,
      "verbosity": "medium",
      "forbidden_phrases": [
        "obvious",
        "clutter",
        "repetitive"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Advanced Composer Operations (Cmd + I)

The Composer is a multi-file orchestration agent. Use these workflows to scaffold features:

Scaffolding a New Module

1. Open Composer (Cmd+I).
2. Toggle Agentic Mode (enables Cursor to run commands, edit files, and self-correct).
3. Issue a structural prompt:

   Create a new blog feature under /src/components/blog/. 
   I need a PostCard.astro component, a central author matching utility under /src/utils/authors.ts, and a test suite. 
   Follow the rules in our @.cursorrules file.

4. Review the multi-file file diffs.
5. Click Accept All (Cmd+Y) or reject individual file diffs manually.

Multi-File Refactoring

• Select a function or folder, hit Cmd+I, and prompt:

  Refactor this utility to use the new Drizzle ORM schemas found in @schema.ts. 
  Ensure all files importing this utility are updated to reflect the new return types.

5. Pro Tips for Peak Performance

• Model Selection: Use Claude 3.5 Sonnet (default) for complex logic, refactoring, and code generation. Use GPT-4o for quick formatting, unit tests, and terminal diagnostic queries.
• Rules Inheritance: You can put separate .cursorrules files inside local subdirectories (e.g., src/components/blog/.cursorrules) to apply local styling or architectural overrides strictly to that folder.
• Avoid Context Bloat: Do not use @Codebase for simple questions. Limit @ inclusions to the exact files you are editing to prevent the AI from losing track of details due to long context windows.

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