Cursor System Prompt

Overview (confidence: high)

Cursor uses a flat markdown envelope (all ##, no nesting) with a dual-mode architecture: chat mode and agent mode. Each mode has distinct behavior, tool access, and output style. The flat header structure prioritizes scannability over hierarchical depth.

Dual-Mode Architecture (confidence: high)

Chat mode: Default to discussion-before-code — asks clarifying questions before implementing. Output style is solution-only with no meta-language or explanation. Designed for rapid, direct answers.

Agent mode: Follows plan-before-implement pattern with a soft gate (plan is produced but no explicit user approval required). Uses explain-before-do communication style. Has access to a broader set of tools including terminal and search.

Envelope Format (confidence: high)

All section headers use ## with no nesting. This flatter structure makes the prompt easier to scan quickly. Trade-off is reduced hierarchical organization compared to Claude Code’s deeply nested approach. This is a classic monolithic prompt trade-off.

Output Style (confidence: high)

Varies by mode — solution-only in chat mode, explain-before-do in agent mode. This mode-based style switching is unique to Cursor among the tools analyzed.

Guardrails (confidence: high)

Full-file overwrite prohibition — edits only specific lines rather than overwriting entire files. This prevents loss of comments, formatting, and code outside the edit scope.

Implications (confidence: high)

Cursor’s dual-mode approach is the most explicit implementation of mode-based behavior in a monolithic prompt. The flat header structure trades hierarchical depth for scannability — a deliberate choice for a tool used in rapid iteration.

Sources

• [raw/prompts/articles/taxonomy-synthesis-2026-07-16.md]