Cursor AI Portable Workspace Setup

A self-contained kit that configures Cursor AI with opinionated rules, workflow skills, and MCP servers. Run one script on any machine to get a fully configured environment.

Quick Start

# Install global rules + skills
./setup.sh --global

# Initialize a project
./setup.sh --project /path/to/your-project

# Both at once
./setup.sh --all /path/to/your-project

# Overwrite existing files
./setup.sh --force --global

What Gets Installed

Global Rules (~/.cursor/rules/)

Always-apply behavioral rules — derived from Claude Code's system prompt:

Rule	Purpose
agent-core.mdc	Agent workflow, structured memory system, collaboration principles
code-discipline.mdc	Scope control, read-before-edit, careful actions
tool-mastery.mdc	Dedicated tools over shell, parallelism, git safety
communication.mdc	Direct tone, output efficiency, no filler
mermaid-diagrams.mdc	Use Mermaid for visual diagrams

File-pattern rules — activated by file type:

Rule	Globs	Focus
python.mdc	**/*.py	Type hints, pathlib, f-strings, dataclasses
typescript.mdc	**/*.{ts,tsx}	Strict types, no any, explicit returns
react.mdc	**/*.tsx	Functional components, custom hooks, server components
docker.mdc	**/Dockerfile*, **/docker-compose*	Multi-stage builds, pinned versions, non-root
data-science.mdc	**/*.ipynb	Clear outputs, reproducible seeds, document assumptions
ml-experiments.mdc	**/train*, **/model*, **/experiment*	Pin seeds, log hyperparams, version datasets
sql.mdc	**/*.sql, **/prisma/**	Append-only migrations, indexed FKs, transactions
testing.mdc	**/*.test.*, **/*.spec.*	Test behavior not implementation, AAA structure
terraform.mdc	**/*.tf	Modules, remote state, plan before apply
mobile.mdc	**/*.swift, **/*.kt	Accessibility, lifecycle, platform conventions

Global Skills (~/.cursor/skills/)

Workflow skills:

Skill	Trigger
git-pr	Creating or submitting pull requests
debug-workflow	Debugging errors, test failures, unexpected behavior
code-review	Reviewing PRs or code changes
refactor-safe	Restructuring, renaming, or reorganizing code
docker-deploy	Containerizing or deploying with Docker
data-analysis	Exploratory data analysis, visualizations
ml-workflow	Building ML models, training pipelines, experiments

Document & media skills:

Skill	Trigger
docx	Word document creation/editing
pdf	PDF processing (merge, split, OCR, fill forms)
pptx	PowerPoint creation/editing
xlsx	Spreadsheet processing and data cleaning

Specialized skills:

Skill	Trigger
frontend-design	Building production-grade web interfaces
ui-ux-pro-max	Design guide with styles, palettes, UX patterns
doc-coauthoring	Co-authoring documentation through structured workflow
mcp-builder	Creating MCP servers (Python/Node)
skill-creator	Creating and evaluating Cursor skills
lead-research-assistant	Identifying sales leads
meeting-insights-analyzer	Analyzing meeting transcripts

Project Template

./setup.sh --project <path> copies into the target project:

• .cursor/rules/project-conventions.mdc — fill in your project's architecture, commands, and patterns
• .cursor/mcp.json — pre-configured GitHub MCP server (set GITHUB_TOKEN env var)
• .gitignore additions — keeps mcp.json out of version control

Directory Structure

cursor-setup/
  setup.sh                    # Bootstrap script
  global/
    rules/                    # 15 .mdc files (5 always-apply + 10 file-pattern)
    skills/                   # 18 skill directories with SKILL.md + supporting files
  project-template/
    .cursor/
      rules/project-conventions.mdc
      mcp.json
    .gitignore-additions

Usage on a New Machine

git clone <your-repo-url> ~/cursor-setup
cd ~/cursor-setup
./setup.sh --global

Then for each project:

cd /path/to/project
~/cursor-setup/setup.sh --project .
# Edit .cursor/rules/project-conventions.mdc

Customization

• Edit a rule: modify the .mdc file in global/rules/, then re-run ./setup.sh --force --global
• Add a skill: create a new directory in global/skills/ with a SKILL.md, then re-run
• Add an MCP server: edit project-template/.cursor/mcp.json to include additional servers