Create Cursor Rule from Selection

Note

This is not an official Cursor extension. It's a hobby project created by an individual and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cursor.

A Cursor extension that helps you quickly create Cursor project rules (.mdc files) from selected text or terminal output. Simply select text in your editor or terminal, and the extension will open Cursor chat with a comprehensive prompt to generate a properly scoped rule file.

Features

• Quick Rule Creation: Select text in editor or terminal and create a rule with one command
• Smart Prompting: Automatically generates a comprehensive prompt following Cursor best practices
• Proper Scoping: Guides the AI to create rules with appropriate globs, alwaysApply, and nested directory placement
• Context-Aware: Works with both editor selections and terminal output

Usage

1. From Editor: Select text in any editor, right-click, and choose "Create Cursor Rule from Selection"
2. From Terminal: Select text in the terminal, right-click, and choose "Create Cursor Rule from Selection"
3. From Clipboard: If no text is selected, the extension will try to use clipboard content

The extension will:

• Open Cursor chat
• Paste a comprehensive prompt for creating the rule
• Guide the AI to generate a properly formatted .mdc file with appropriate metadata

Requirements

• Cursor IDE (for the chat functionality)

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following command:

• cursor-rules.createFromSelection: Create a Cursor rule from the current selection

Installation

From VSIX File (Recommended)

1. Download the cursor-create-rule-from-selection-0.0.#.vsix file from the GitHub repository
2. Install the extension using Cursor:

   cursor --install-extension cursor-create-rule-from-selection-0.0.#.vsix

From Cursor Marketplace (hopefully coming soon)

1. Open Cursor
2. Go to Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Create Cursor Rule from Selection"
4. Click Install

License

MIT

Customizing the Prompt

The extension uses a prompt template file to generate the instructions sent to Cursor chat. You can customize this prompt to better suit your needs.

How to Modify the Prompt

1. Locate the prompt template file: prompt-template.md (in the extension root directory)

2. Edit the template: Open prompt-template.md and modify the prompt text as needed. The template uses {{INPUT_TEXT}} as a placeholder that will be replaced with the selected text.

3. Rebuild the extension: After making changes, rebuild the extension:

   npm run build

4. Reload the extension: In Cursor, press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and run "Developer: Reload Window" to apply your changes.

Prompt Template Structure

The prompt template is a Markdown file that contains instructions for the AI. Key points:

• Use {{INPUT_TEXT}} as a placeholder for where the selected text will be inserted
• The template should guide the AI to create properly formatted .mdc rule files
• You can customize the instructions, examples, and formatting requirements

Example Customization

If you want to add specific requirements or change the output format, simply edit prompt-template.md. For example, you could:

• Add project-specific conventions
• Modify the rule structure requirements
• Change the file naming conventions
• Add additional validation steps

After editing, remember to rebuild and reload the extension for changes to take effect.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.