mnemo

Cursor memory surfaces

Native model

Cursor’s current documented durable context surface is Rules. Rules are prompt-level reusable context for Agent, not a structured memory database. Cursor documents four rule types: Project Rules, User Rules, Team Rules, and AGENTS.md.

Older/alternate Cursor memory references exist in the ecosystem, but the current public docs route durable project knowledge through Rules and AGENTS.md. A mnemo importer should therefore treat Cursor project rules as the primary conversion surface and avoid scraping opaque editor databases.

Locations

Project rules:

• .cursor/rules/**/*.mdc.
• Each project rule must use the .mdc extension.
• A plain .md file inside .cursor/rules is ignored by Cursor’s rule system unless it is referenced some other way.

Other durable surfaces:

• AGENTS.md as a simple markdown alternative to .cursor/rules.
• User Rules are global to the Cursor environment and managed from Cursor settings.
• Team Rules are dashboard-managed for Team/Enterprise plans.
• Legacy .cursorrules may exist in older projects and should be detected as a best-effort legacy import source.

Shape and retrieval

• Project rules are markdown files with frontmatter.
• Frontmatter controls application through fields equivalent to description, globs, and alwaysApply.
• Rule behavior includes always apply, agent-selected by description, file-pattern attachment, or manual @ mention.
• Rules are included at the start of model context when applied.
• Cursor rules can reference supporting files, for example with @template-file links. That is a rule-support pattern, not a central memory index.

Conversion notes for mnemo

Recommended import order:

1. .cursor/rules/**/*.mdc.
2. Root and nested AGENTS.md files, if present.
3. Legacy .cursorrules if present.
4. User Rules / Team Rules only through a user-approved export or explicit path.

Suggested mapping:

• alwaysApply: true broad rules -> pattern or config after review.
• globs scoped rules -> pattern with a source scope derived from the glob.
• Rules with description but no glob -> manual or pattern, preserving description as provenance.
• Legacy .cursorrules -> split by headings/bullets and classify conservatively.

Important importer behavior:

• Parse frontmatter structurally.
• Preserve alwaysApply, description, and globs as SQL-queryable provenance.
• Preserve referenced @file targets separately from the rule body; follow them only in dry-run or with explicit import approval.
• Do not convert every rule into a factual observation without review; many rules are behavioral instructions.

Sources

• https://prod.cursor.com/docs/rules

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