Cursor¶

Cursor uses .mdc files (markdown with metadata) for project rules and supports MCP server configuration at both project and global levels.

Overview¶

Property	Value
Instruction path	`.cursor/rules/*.mdc`
File extension	`.mdc`
MCP config (project)	`.cursor/mcp.json`
MCP config (global)	`~/.cursor/mcp.json`
MCP tool limit	40 tools
Project scope	Yes
Global scope	Yes

Instructions¶

Cursor reads rule files from .cursor/rules/ in the project root. DevSync installs one .mdc file per instruction:

my-project/
  .cursor/
    rules/
      code-style.mdc
      testing-standards.mdc

Installing Instructions¶

# Install a package from a local path
devsync install ./my-package --tool cursor

# Install a package from a Git repository
devsync install https://github.com/acme/standards --tool cursor

The .mdc File Format¶

Cursor uses .mdc files, which are markdown files with an optional YAML frontmatter block for metadata:

---
description: Enforce consistent code style across the project
globs: ["src/**/*.tsx", "src/**/*.ts"]
alwaysApply: false
---

# Code Style Guidelines

- Use functional components, never class components
- Prefer named exports over default exports
- Maximum line length: 120 characters

Frontmatter Fields¶

Field	Type	Description
`description`	`string`	Short description of the rule's purpose
`globs`	`string[]`	File patterns that trigger this rule (e.g., `["src/*/.ts"]`)
`alwaysApply`	`boolean`	If `true`, the rule applies to all files regardless of globs

Note

When DevSync installs instructions to Cursor, the instruction content is written as-is. If your instruction source includes frontmatter, it will be preserved. If it does not, Cursor treats the file as an always-applied rule.

MCP Server Configuration¶

Cursor supports MCP servers with a limit of 40 tools across all configured servers.

Configuration Locations¶

Project-levelGlobal

Project MCP servers are configured in .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
      "env": {
        "DATABASE_URL": "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb"
      }
    }
  }
}

Global MCP servers are configured in ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/projects"]
    }
  }
}

40-Tool Limit

Cursor enforces a maximum of 40 MCP tools across all configured servers. If your servers collectively expose more than 40 tools, Cursor will not load them all. Plan your MCP server selection accordingly.

Installing MCP via Packages¶

devsync install ./my-package --tool cursor

DevSync merges MCP entries into the project-level .cursor/mcp.json by default.

Unsupported Components¶

Cursor does not support hooks, commands, skills, or workflows. When installing a package that contains these components, DevSync automatically skips them and reports the count:

Installed 3 of 5 components (2 skipped: hooks, commands not supported by Cursor)

Detection¶

DevSync detects Cursor by checking for the Cursor application configuration directory. Verify with:

devsync tools

Package Component Support¶

Component	Supported	Install Location
Instructions	Yes	`.cursor/rules/*.mdc`
MCP Servers	Yes	`.cursor/mcp.json`
Hooks	--	Not supported
Commands	--	Not supported
Skills	--	Not supported
Workflows	--	Not supported
Resources	Yes	Project directory

Example: Project Setup¶

# Install team standards from a Git repository
devsync install https://github.com/acme/standards --tool cursor

Result:

my-project/
  .cursor/
    mcp.json                    # MCP servers (if package includes them)
    rules/
      code-style.mdc            # Team coding standard
      testing.mdc               # Testing conventions