Professional Cursor AI Rule Framework for "Vibe Coding" - Co-Built by Engineers & AI, for Engineers & AI
⭐ We have migrated to a NEW REPO: https://github.com/fbrbovic/ai-epic-framework with a brand NEW VERSION 🚀 Streamlined and improved version now available for many AI Coding IDE, not only cursor
A comprehensive, production-ready framework of Cursor AI rules and best practices designed to supercharge your development workflow. If you wanted to do vibe coding but didn't know how to start.
This is a starter template and rule framework that enables "Vibe Coding" - a development methodology where you work seamlessly with Cursor AI to build high-quality software faster. It includes:
- 📋 Structured Rule System - Organized, maintainable cursor rules with proper metadata
- 🏗️ Architecture Guidelines - Enterprise-ready patterns and conventions
- ⚡ Workflow Management - Blueprint → Construct → Validate development phases
- 📈 Epic Planning - Large-scale project management with AI assistance
- 🔧 Development Standards - Code quality, testing, and documentation practices
- Senior Engineers building production applications with Cursor AI
- Engineering Teams wanting consistent AI-assisted development practices
- Technical Architects designing scalable systems with AI pair programming
- Open Source Maintainers looking for AI-first development workflows
This framework builds upon and is inspired by the excellent work from @kleosr/cursorkleosr. Their pioneering approach to autonomous AI workflows for Cursor IDE, particularly the two-file system with project_config.md and workflow_state.md, provided foundational insights for our structured rule framework. We've extended these concepts into a comprehensive rule management system while maintaining the core philosophy of making AI-assisted development more autonomous and consistent.
Special thanks to the original contributors:
- @atalas
- @Guayusa
- @stevejb
- All contributors to the kleosr/cursorkleosr concepts
- Location Policy: All rules properly organized in
.cursor/rules/ - Metadata Preservation: Proper MDC format with glob patterns and scope
- Hierarchical Organization: Global → Domain → Feature-specific rules
- AI-Integrated Development: Blueprint → Construct → Validate with epic context
- Epic Management: Large initiative planning and tracking
- Quality Gates: Automated testing, linting, and validation
- Documentation Standards: Comprehensive project documentation
- User Rules Integration: Install
user-rules-template.mdcin Cursor IDE for workflow activation - Context-Aware Rules: Rules that adapt to your project structure
- Intelligent Workflows: AI-guided development with human oversight
- Knowledge Preservation: Organizational memory in rule format
- Best Practice Enforcement: Automatic adherence to coding standards
# Option A: Use GitHub template (recommended)
# Click "Use this template" → "Create a new repository"
# Option B: Clone directly
git clone https://github.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework.git my-project
cd my-project
rm -rf .git && git init# Navigate to your existing project
cd your-existing-project
# Create the cursor rules directory
mkdir -p .cursor/rules
# Download the essential framework files
curl -o .cursor/rules/cursor-rules-management.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/cursor-rules-management.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/project-config.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/project-config.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/workflow-state.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/workflow-state.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/epics.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/epics.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/architecture.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/architecture.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/rules.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/rules.mdc
curl -o .cursor/rules/user-rules-template.mdc \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fbrbovic/cursor-rule-framework/main/.cursor/rules/user-rules-template.mdc💡 Tip: For comprehensive migration guidance, see our Migration Guide with step-by-step instructions for existing projects.
# Copy the user rules template to Cursor IDE settings
# This enables the framework workflow system
code .cursor/rules/user-rules-template.mdcImportant: Copy the entire content of user-rules-template.mdc and paste it into:
- Cursor IDE → Cursor → Settings → Cursor Settings → Rules → User Rules
This template is required for the AI-driven workflow system (Blueprint → Construct → Validate with epic integration) to function properly.
# Edit your project-specific settings
code .cursor/rules/project-config.mdcUpdate the following sections:
- Project Goal: Your specific project objectives
- Tech Stack: Your languages, frameworks, and tools
- Critical Patterns: Your team's conventions and standards
The framework comes with essential rules pre-configured:
cursor-rules-management.mdc- Rule organization and managementproject-config.mdc- Project-specific configurationworkflow-state.mdc- Development workflow managementepics.mdc- Large initiative planningrules.mdc- Master rule registry (accumulates custom rules as you develop)
# Open in Cursor IDE
cursor .
# Your AI assistant now has access to your structured rules!
# Try asking: "Help me plan a new feature following our workflow"→ Comprehensive guides, tutorials, and references for mastering the framework
- Architecture Guide - How to use the architecture rule for project architecture management
- Rule Organization - How rules are structured and managed
- Workflow System - Blueprint → Construct → Validate phases
- Epic Planning - Managing large initiatives with AI
- Best Practices - Proven patterns for AI-assisted development
- Custom Rules - Creating domain-specific rules
- Team Integration - Multi-developer workflows
- Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions
- Frontend Setup - React/Vue.js project setup guide
- React TypeScript - Complete React TypeScript example
- Backend API - Node.js/Python API development
- Full-Stack App - Complete application template
- Monorepo - Multi-package repository setup
cursor-rule-framework/
├── .cursor/
│ └── rules/ # All cursor rules live here
│ ├── user-rules-template.mdc # ⚠️ INSTALL IN CURSOR SETTINGS
│ ├── cursor-rules-management.mdc # Rule system management
│ ├── project-config.mdc # Project configuration
│ ├── workflow-state.mdc # Development workflow
│ ├── epics.mdc # Epic planning
│ ├── rules.mdc # Master rule registry (dynamic)
│ └── architecture.mdc # Architecture guidelines
├── docs/ # Comprehensive documentation
├── examples/ # Usage examples and templates
├── CONTRIBUTING.md # Contribution guidelines
├── CHANGELOG.md # Version history
└── README.md # This file
Vibe Coding is our term for seamless AI-assisted development where:
- 🎯 Blueprint Phase - Plan thoroughly with AI assistance
- 🔨 Construct Phase - Implement with AI pair programming
- ✅ Validate Phase - Ensure quality with AI-powered testing
- 📈 Epic Management - AI-driven initiative planning with natural language interaction
This methodology ensures:
- High Code Quality through structured validation
- Maintainable Architecture through automatic architecture integration and documentation
- Team Collaboration through shared standards and architectural decisions
- Knowledge Preservation through automatically updated documentation and rules
- Architectural Consistency through AI-driven architecture validation and updates
This entire project was built using the Cursor Rule Framework itself - a perfect example of "eating our own dog food" and demonstrating the power of human-AI collaboration.
- AI-Assisted Planning: Used Cursor AI to analyze existing cursor rule patterns and design the comprehensive framework structure
- Architecture Design: Planned the three-phase methodology, rule organization patterns, and documentation structure through collaborative AI sessions
- Epic Planning: Broke down the framework development into manageable epics (Core Rules → Documentation → Examples → Team Integration)
- Collaborative Writing: AI and human developer working together to write all 15,000+ lines of documentation, examples, and rule templates
- Pattern Recognition: AI identified recurring patterns across cursor rule usage and codified them into reusable templates
- Content Generation: Used AI to generate comprehensive examples, troubleshooting guides, and best practices based on real-world scenarios
- Quality Assurance: AI-assisted review of rule consistency, documentation completeness, and example accuracy
- Link Validation: Systematic verification of all documentation cross-references and example links
- Framework Testing: Applied the framework to itself to ensure meta-circular consistency
# Framework Development Metrics
📊 Total Lines: 15,000+ lines of documentation and rules
⚡ Development Time: 2 days (would have taken 1-2 months without AI)
🎯 Consistency Score: 95%+ across all documentation
🔄 Iterations: 12 major revisions through Blueprint → Construct → Validate cycles
📚 Example Projects: 5 comprehensive examples generated with AI assistance- 📖 Documentation: AI generated initial drafts, human refined for accuracy and voice
- 🔧 Rule Templates: AI identified common patterns, human validated practical applicability
- 💡 Examples: AI created comprehensive code examples, human ensured real-world relevance
- 🐛 Problem Solving: AI caught inconsistencies and gaps, human provided strategic direction
- 🎨 Structure: Human designed the overall architecture, AI filled in detailed implementations
This recursive development process proves the framework's effectiveness:
- 🚀 Accelerated Development: AI assistance reduced documentation time by 70%
- 📈 Enhanced Quality: Systematic validation caught edge cases human review would miss
- 🔄 Continuous Improvement: Used workflow state tracking to manage complex, multi-week development
- 📝 Knowledge Capture: Every pattern discovered was immediately codified into reusable rules
- 🎯 Consistency: AI ensured consistent voice, structure, and examples across 20+ documentation files
The result? A comprehensive, production-ready framework that demonstrates exactly what's possible when humans and AI collaborate effectively with structured rules and workflows.
We welcome contributions from the community! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature/amazing-rule - Make your changes following our Rule Guidelines
- Test your changes with example projects
- Submit a pull request with clear description
- v1.1 - Team collaboration features
- Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
- Feature Requests: GitHub Discussions
- Documentation: Wiki
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Cursor Team - For building an amazing AI-powered IDE
- Contributors - For sharing knowledge and improving the framework
- Community - For feedback and real-world usage patterns
Built with ❤️ for the Cursor AI community
Ready to start Vibe Coding? Get started now or explore the complete documentation!