Open library for Cursor IDE
Cursor Rules
Cursor rules tell the AI how to behave on your project, your stack, your conventions, your forbidden patterns. skills-hub.ai is an open library of 4,400+ rules and reusable instructions, installable as .cursorrules or .mdc files in one command, with security scanning and version control built in.
.cursorrules vs .mdc, which format should you use?
Cursor supports two formats for rules. Both work; the right one depends on how granular you need to be.
.cursorrules
The original format. A single file at your repo root. Loads globally with every conversation.
Use when: small project, one set of conventions for the whole codebase, you want the simplest setup.
.mdc files
The current format. Multiple files under .cursor/rules/, each with frontmatter that scopes the rule to specific paths or globs.
Use when: monorepo, multiple stacks, or you want path-specific rules (e.g. one for apps/web/**, another for packages/api/**).
Cursor reads both. New projects should default to .mdc for the path-scoping. The skills-hub CLI writes the right format based on your project structure.
Cursor rules vs skills, and why you want both
Rules and skills sound similar but solve different problems. Rules load with every conversation, they're for things you want the AI to always know. Skills load on demand when their triggers match , they're for specific jobs you do over and over.
- Use a rule for: "this project uses TypeScript with strict mode, Tailwind, Drizzle, and pnpm workspaces."
- Use a skill for: "review this PR for security issues using OWASP Top 10 and report findings ranked by severity."
- Cross-tool angle: rules are Cursor-only. SKILL.md (the open Agent Skills standard) runs in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Windsurf, Copilot, and any MCP-compatible tool. If you want portability, write skills.
Most teams use both. skills-hub.ai gives you a single registry for both, install rules into .cursor/rules/ for ambient context and install skills into the same place for procedural jobs.
Top rules and skills for Cursor
See all →Most-installed entries on skills-hub.ai. Each is versioned, security-scanned, and linked to its upstream GitHub source. Install to .cursor/rules/ with one command.
01code-review
57 installsThorough code review — checks correctness, security, performance, readability, and test coverage. Gives actionable feedback ranked by severity.
Review02quickstart
22 installsZero to power user in one invoke — detects OS, installs Homebrew/apt/Node.js/Python, sets up Claude Code, authenticates skills-hub CLI, connects MCP servers, and installs recommended skills based on your project. Cross-platform (macOS, Linux, WSL). Idempotent. Use when: 'quickstart', 'setup machine', 'new machine setup', 'install everything', 'get started', 'onboard me', 'setup skills-hub', 'fresh install'.
Productivity03web-research-agent
14 installsA comprehensive autonomous web research agent that performs targeted searches, fetches and parses web content, summarizes findings, and generates structured reports, adhering to industry best practices for accuracy, security, and robustness.
Analysis04Ralph Wiggum Ship It
9 installsStop overthinking. Ship the thing. The Ralph Wiggum approach to software delivery: naive boldness backed by the confidence that you can fix anything after it lands. For when your inner perfectionist needs to sit down.
Build05refactor
8 installsSystematic code refactoring — extract functions, reduce complexity, eliminate duplication, improve naming, and split large files. Preserves behavior with tests.
Review06ffmpeg-media
6 installsProcess audio and video with FFmpeg -- encoding, format conversion, trimming, concatenation, audio extraction, noise reduction, volume normalization, watermarking, subtitle burning, GIF creation, thumbnail extraction, and hardware-accelerated transcoding. Covers 100+ input/output formats.
Build07ci-cd
6 installsSet up CI/CD pipelines — generates GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Bitbucket Pipelines with lint, test, build, deploy stages. Detects stack automatically.
Deploy08security-audit
5 installsScan a codebase for security vulnerabilities — OWASP Top 10, secrets in code, dependency CVEs, auth flaws, injection risks, and misconfigurations. Fixes what it finds.
Review09skill-writer
5 installsLearn to build and publish your own AI agent skills -- from idea to published on skills-hub.ai
Educationfrom Skills Hub10Market Research to Launch
5 installsFull product launch pipeline. Competitive analysis, positioning, landing page SEO, schema markup, social media content, and pitch deck. From idea to launched and marketed.
Combo11automated-code-quality-analysis
5 installsA comprehensive, automated code quality analysis tool that performs static analysis across multiple programming languages, identifies issues, security vulnerabilities, code smells, and duplications, and generates detailed, actionable reports to improve code \
QA12social-media-content-automator
5 installsA comprehensive social media automation skill that monitors platforms like Reddit and other social media sites to generate, post, and reply with relevant content promoting your app. It ensures content relevance, adheres to platform policies, and incorporates best practices for engagement and safety.
Productivity13prompt-engineering
4 installsLearn effective AI prompting through practice -- good vs bad prompts, context management, the STAR framework, and advanced techniques
Educationfrom Skills Hub14workflow-builder
3 installsMap your goal to a multi-skill workflow -- suggests Combo chains, generates custom pipelines, and explains each step
Educationfrom Skills Hub15api-design
3 installsReview or design REST/GraphQL APIs — checks naming, versioning, pagination, error handling, authentication, rate limiting, and consistency against industry standards.
Review16getting-started
3 installsInteractive onboarding — detects your project, recommends skills, and walks you through your first install
Educationfrom Skills Hub17elevenlabs-voiceover
3 installsGenerate professional AI voiceovers using ElevenLabs TTS for video narration, explainers, and content creation. Supports multiple voices, character presets (narrator, salesperson, expert), scene-based generation with request stitching, single scene regeneration, timing validation, and thumbnail embedding. Integrates with Remotion for precise audio-visual sync.
Buildfrom Skills Hub18perplexity-search
3 installsAI-powered web search and research using the Perplexity API (Sonar models). Performs deep web research with citations, fact-checking, competitive analysis, market research, and technical documentation lookup. Supports streaming responses, search domain filtering, and recency filtering.
Integration
Installing a Cursor rule
# Install one rule for Cursor
npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install code-review --target cursor
# Install a bundle of related rules
npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install full-stack-dev-kit --target cursor
# Reproduce a teammate's setup from the lockfile
npx @skills-hub-ai/cli installFiles land in .cursor/rules/. The lockfile .skills.json tracks every install. Commit both to your repo and your team gets reproducible rules with one command.
Frequently asked questions about Cursor rules
What are Cursor rules?
Cursor rules are instructions that load with every Cursor conversation, telling the AI how to behave on your project, your tech stack, naming conventions, code style, things to avoid. The legacy format is a single `.cursorrules` file in your project root. The current format is `.mdc` files (Markdown with frontmatter) under `.cursor/rules/` that can scope themselves to specific paths or globs.
What's the difference between .cursorrules and .mdc?
`.cursorrules` is the original format, one file at the repo root, applied to everything. `.mdc` is the newer format, multiple files under `.cursor/rules/` that can target specific paths via glob patterns and load conditionally. Cursor still reads `.cursorrules` for backward compatibility, but new projects should prefer `.mdc`.
How do Cursor rules compare to SKILL.md skills?
Rules load on every conversation; skills load only when their triggers match. Rules are Cursor-specific; skills follow the open Agent Skills standard and run in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Windsurf, Copilot, and any MCP-compatible tool. Most teams use both, rules for ambient project context, skills for specific recurring jobs.
How do I install a Cursor rule from skills-hub?
Run `npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install <slug> --target cursor`. The CLI writes the file to `.cursor/rules/` as an `.mdc` file, converting from the SKILL.md source if needed. Your `.skills.json` lockfile tracks every install so teammates get the same rules at the same versions.
Where can I find good Cursor rules?
skills-hub.ai indexes 4,400+ rules and skills from 90+ official sources, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google, Vercel, Stripe, Cloudflare, Trail of Bits, Prisma, Supabase. Every entry has a security grade, quality score, and links back to its upstream GitHub repo. Cursor's own community awesome-cursorrules list is also a good starting point.
Can I share Cursor rules across my team?
Yes. Commit `.cursor/rules/` and `.skills.json` to your repo. New teammates run `npx @skills-hub-ai/cli install` (no args) and get every rule at the exact version you committed. Organization-scoped rules give you private, team-only rules with GitHub auth.
Are Cursor rules portable to other tools?
MDC and .cursorrules files are Cursor-specific. SKILL.md (the open Agent Skills standard) is portable across Cursor, Claude Code, Codex CLI, Windsurf, and Copilot. Skills-hub stores rules as SKILL.md and converts to `.mdc` at install time, so the same source works in every tool.