Rules for plans, docs, changelogs, comments, and other markdown the agent writes.
Cursor injects short always-on reminders via .cursor/rules/no-emdash.mdc,
no-bullet-characters.mdc, and raw-markdown-output.mdc -- this file is the
canonical full text.
Do not use smart / curly quotes or emdash / endash.
| Avoid | Use |
|---|---|
“ ” |
" |
‘ ’ |
' |
— (emdash) or – (endash) |
spaced double hyphen: -- |
A single hyphen (-) is fine for list markers, compound words, and simple separators.
Apostrophes in contractions use straight ' (e.g. don't, Dashboard's).
<!-- BAD -->
Status: design only — not implemented
schema mixes “who changed” with “done counts”
<!-- GOOD -->
Status: design only -- not implemented
schema mixes "who changed" with "done counts"Mid-sentence subclause: a pair of spaced double hyphens:
The filter -- when enabled -- hides completed items.Never use Unicode bullet characters (•, ●, ◦, etc.).
Always write Markdown lists as - then the item text.
When the user wants written output meant to be read or copied as markdown source (CHANGELOG summaries, release notes, docs drafts, etc.), show the actual markdown characters, not a rendered version.
Put that content in a fenced code block (e.g. ```markdown) so #, -, and
other markup stay visible. Apply this to final deliverable prose, not to normal
conversational replies or tool traces.