AI Project Starter

A template for AI-assisted projects using Cursor's native skills discovery. Fork this to start new projects with structured rules, skills, and workflow.

Quick Start

# Clone this template
git clone https://github.com/aussiegingersnap/ai-project-start.git my-project
cd my-project

# Install runtimes (requires mise)
mise install

# Open in Cursor and start a chat
# The /project-setup skill will guide you through configuration

When you open a fresh project, Cursor detects the unconfigured project.mdc and triggers the setup flow. Answer a few questions about your tech stack, and you're ready to build.

What's Included

Native Skills (Cursor 2.4+)

Skills live in .cursor/skills/ and are automatically discovered by Cursor. No server setup required.

Skill	Purpose
project-setup	Interactive onboarding for new projects
feature-build	Complete feature development lifecycle

Minimal Rules

Rule	Purpose
main_rule.mdc	Role detection + skills invocation
project.mdc	Project constraints (configured during setup)

Workflow Files

File	Purpose
TASKS.md	Sprint backlog → Cursor plans
CHANGELOG.md	Keep a Changelog format
docs/architecture.md	Technical patterns + decisions

Dev Environment

File	Purpose
.mise.toml	Pinned Node.js + Python versions
.env.example	Environment variable template
lefthook.yml	Git hooks for commit validation

Directory Structure

project/
├── .cursor/
│   ├── rules/
│   │   ├── main_rule.mdc      # Role detection + skills
│   │   └── project.mdc        # Project constraints (EDIT THIS)
│   └── skills/
│       ├── feature-build/     # Feature development workflow
│       └── project-setup/     # Onboarding flow
├── .env.example
├── .gitignore
├── .mise.toml
├── CHANGELOG.md
├── README.md
├── TASKS.md
├── lefthook.yml
└── docs/
    └── architecture.md

Importing Skills

From Cursor Settings (Recommended)

1. Open Cursor Settings (Cmd+Shift+J)
2. Go to the Rules tab
3. Click Add Rule → Remote Rule (GitHub)
4. Enter: https://github.com/aussiegingersnap/cursor-skills
5. Select the skills you want to import

Skills are copied to your .cursor/skills/ directory and automatically discovered.

Manual Copy

# Clone cursor-skills and copy what you need
git clone https://github.com/aussiegingersnap/cursor-skills /tmp/cursor-skills
cp -r /tmp/cursor-skills/skills/design-system .cursor/skills/

Available Skills

Browse the cursor-skills repo for available skills:

Skill	Description
design-system	Linear/Notion-inspired UI patterns
db-postgres	PostgreSQL with Drizzle ORM
db-prisma	PostgreSQL with Prisma ORM
nextjs-16	Next.js 16 App Router patterns
effector	Effector state management
docker-local	Local Docker development
linear	Linear issue tracking
api-rest	REST API conventions

Project Setup Flow

When you open a fresh clone, the /project-setup skill guides you through:

1. Project info - Name and description
2. Tech stack - Framework, database, auth, deployment
3. Skill recommendations - Based on your choices
4. Configuration - Updates project.mdc with your answers

To manually trigger setup:

/project-setup

Workflow

Task in TASKS.md → Create Cursor Plan → Execute → Update CHANGELOG.md

1. Add task to TASKS.md Current Sprint
2. Create Cursor plan for complex tasks (or use /feature-build)
3. Execute the work
4. Log changes in CHANGELOG.md under [Unreleased]
5. Check off task, move to Completed

Using Feature Build

The /feature-build skill orchestrates the complete development lifecycle:

1. Task Selection - Define acceptance criteria
2. Component Design - Build components in style guide
3. Build Loop - Implement with browser testing
4. Analytics - Add tracking if needed
5. Commit & Document - Update docs and commit

Git Standards

Conventional Commits: <type>(<scope>): <subject>

# After completing work, Cursor provides commands like:
gaa && gcmsg "feat(api): add user endpoints"
gp

Lefthook validates:

• ✅ Conventional commit format
• ✅ No secrets in commits
• ✅ No .env files committed

Requirements

• Cursor 2.4+ (native skills support)
• mise for runtime management
• Node.js 20+ (for typical web projects)

License

MIT