Cursor

Set up pair with Cursor — configure .cursor/rules, discover skills, and follow the bridge pattern.

Prerequisites

Cursor installed
A pair-enabled project (pair-cli init completed, .pair/ directory exists)
Node.js 18+

Configure Agent File

Cursor reads project-level rules from .cursor/rules/ at the repository root. pair generates these bridge files during pair-cli init.

.cursor/rules/

pair creates rule files in .cursor/rules/ that point Cursor to your .pair/ directory:

your-project/
├── .cursor/
│   ├── rules/             ← Cursor reads these automatically
│   └── skills/            ← symlinks to .claude/skills/
├── .pair/
│   ├── knowledge/
│   └── adoption/
└── ...

The rules file contains the same information as AGENTS.md — task selection, essential commands, key references, and quick rules — formatted for Cursor's conventions.

The Bridge Pattern

.cursor/rules/ points to .pair/ — the single source of truth. When you update adoption files or install new skills, Cursor picks up the changes at the next session start.

.cursor/rules/  ──→ .pair/knowledge/   (guidelines)
                ──→ .pair/adoption/    (your decisions)

Use Skills

Skills are available in .cursor/skills/ as symlinks to the canonical copies in .claude/skills/. Cursor discovers these files and can follow the structured instructions when you reference them.

To invoke a skill, ask Cursor to follow the skill instructions:

Follow the instructions in .cursor/skills/pair-process-implement/SKILL.md to implement story #42

Common Skills

Skill	Purpose
`pair-next`	Determine next action based on project state
`pair-process-implement`	Implement a story task by task
`pair-process-review`	Structured code review
`pair-process-refine-story`	Refine a story with acceptance criteria

For the full catalog, see Skills Catalog.

Cursor rules provide the entry point, but the real context lives in .pair/adoption/. When Cursor reads the rules, it discovers your architecture decisions, tech stack, and development process — keeping responses aligned with your project.

Multi-Agent Teams

If your team uses both Cursor and Claude Code (or other tools), the bridge pattern ensures everyone follows the same standards. The .pair/ directory is the single source of truth; .cursor/rules/ is just one entry point.

Skills as Symlinks

Skills in .cursor/skills/ are symlinks to .claude/skills/. This means pair-cli update updates all tools simultaneously — no manual sync needed. On Windows, pair falls back to full copies if symlinks aren't available.

Verify It Works

Open Cursor in your pair-enabled project and ask:

Read the pair rules in .cursor/rules/ and tell me what project I'm working on

Expected output: Cursor reads the rules, follows the references to .pair/adoption/, and describes your project context (tech stack, architecture, current work items). If it can't find the rules, check that pair-cli init completed successfully.