Working With AI Tools•Working With AI Tools•12 min lesson

System Prompts — .cursorrules and CLAUDE.md Explained

Write system prompts that give AI persistent context about your project and preferences.

ai-toolssystem-promptscursorrulesclaude-mdconfiguration

Copy-ready prompt

**Use this when you want the agent to draft your persistent project instructions:**
"Help me write a system prompt file for this project.
Tool target: [Cursor / Claude Code / both]
Project summary: [what the app does]
Stack: [frameworks, languages, key services]
Repo conventions: [folders, naming, testing, styling, data access]
Constraints: [things the agent must never do]
Current phase: [what is already built and what is in progress]

Return:
1. A concise `.cursorrules` or `CLAUDE.md`
2. A short list of rules I should not include because they are too vague, too stale, or too noisy
3. A maintenance checklist for keeping this file current as the project changes."

Prompt FAQ

Questions to answer before you paste it

When should I use the System Prompts — .cursorrules and CLAUDE.md Explained prompt?

Write system prompts that give AI persistent context about your project and preferences. Use it when you need a safer starting point than a blank prompt and you want the agent to stay inside explicit constraints.

Should I paste this prompt exactly as written?

No. Treat it as a safe starter. Replace the task, files, constraints, and verification details with your actual context before you run it.

What should I do after the agent answers?

Read the diff, run the checks, and stop after one reviewable step. If you need deeper context, open the lesson that explains the reasoning behind the prompt.

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