Cursor Prompting
Use this skill when cursor:cursor-rescue needs to shape a request before forwarding it to cursor-agent.
Prompt Cursor like an operator, not a collaborator. Keep prompts compact and block-structured. State the task, the output contract, the follow-through defaults, and the small set of extra constraints that matter. Cursor's default auto router may hand the prompt to any model family (GPT, Claude, Grok, Composer), so avoid model-specific idioms and rely on plain structure that every family parses well.
Prompt shape:
- Lead with one sentence naming the goal and the definition of done.
- List hard constraints (files that must not change, behavior that must be preserved, tests that must pass).
- State the expected output: a diff, a diagnosis with evidence, a ranked list of findings, or a plan.
- For fixes: tell it to run the relevant tests and report the results, not just claim success.
- For diagnosis: ask for observed facts, inferences, and open questions as separate sections.
- Do not paste large file contents into the prompt — Cursor reads the workspace itself.
Model selection (only when the user asks, otherwise leave auto):
--profile deep|fast on task/rescue is a coarse, named shortcut (deep = gpt-5.6-sol-xhigh, fast = cursor-grok-4.5-high-fast) with no effort tier — Cursor has none. --model still overrides it and remains the explicit-model escape hatch.auto — Cursor's server-side router; the right default for most tasks.- Deep or adversarial reviews: a thinking model such as
claude-opus-5-thinking-high.
- Quick, tightly bounded edits: a fast Codex tier such as
gpt-5.3-codex-fast or gpt-5.3-codex-low-fast.
- Long-context work across many files: a 1M-context variant (
-high thinking models, gpt-5.6-sol-high).
- The live roster changes;
cursor-agent --list-models is the source of truth. Pass names through --model unchanged.
Mode notes:
- Reviews are requested read-only and the plugin reports any git-visible workspace drift afterward, but Cursor has no enforced read-only sandbox — never promise edits in a review prompt, and never rely on a review being unable to write.
- Write-capable tasks run with
--force under the plugin's ownership-tracked cancel — still scope the prompt to the smallest safe change.
- Resume (
--resume <chat-id>) continues an existing Cursor session with its context; write follow-up prompts as instructions to continue, not as restatements of the whole task.
1---2name: cursor-prompting3description: Internal guidance for composing cursor-agent prompts and picking models for coding, review, diagnosis, and research tasks inside the Cursor Claude Code plugin4---56# Cursor Prompting78Use this skill when `cursor:cursor-rescue` needs to shape a request before forwarding it to `cursor-agent`.910Prompt Cursor like an operator, not a collaborator. Keep prompts compact and block-structured. State the task, the output contract, the follow-through defaults, and the small set of extra constraints that matter. Cursor's default `auto` router may hand the prompt to any model family (GPT, Claude, Grok, Composer), so avoid model-specific idioms and rely on plain structure that every family parses well.1112Prompt shape:13- Lead with one sentence naming the goal and the definition of done.14- List hard constraints (files that must not change, behavior that must be preserved, tests that must pass).15- State the expected output: a diff, a diagnosis with evidence, a ranked list of findings, or a plan.16- For fixes: tell it to run the relevant tests and report the results, not just claim success.17- For diagnosis: ask for observed facts, inferences, and open questions as separate sections.18- Do not paste large file contents into the prompt — Cursor reads the workspace itself.1920Model selection (only when the user asks, otherwise leave `auto`):21- `--profile deep|fast` on `task`/`rescue` is a coarse, named shortcut (`deep` = `gpt-5.6-sol-xhigh`, `fast` = `cursor-grok-4.5-high-fast`) with no effort tier — Cursor has none. `--model` still overrides it and remains the explicit-model escape hatch.22- `auto` — Cursor's server-side router; the right default for most tasks.23- Deep or adversarial reviews: a thinking model such as `claude-opus-5-thinking-high`.24- Quick, tightly bounded edits: a fast Codex tier such as `gpt-5.3-codex-fast` or `gpt-5.3-codex-low-fast`.25- Long-context work across many files: a 1M-context variant (`-high` thinking models, `gpt-5.6-sol-high`).26- The live roster changes; `cursor-agent --list-models` is the source of truth. Pass names through `--model` unchanged.2728Mode notes:29- Reviews are requested read-only and the plugin reports any git-visible workspace drift afterward, but Cursor has no enforced read-only sandbox — never promise edits in a review prompt, and never rely on a review being unable to write.30- Write-capable tasks run with `--force` under the plugin's ownership-tracked cancel — still scope the prompt to the smallest safe change.31- Resume (`--resume <chat-id>`) continues an existing Cursor session with its context; write follow-up prompts as instructions to continue, not as restatements of the whole task.
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