Claude Code vs Cursor — instruction files & skills

How the two tools handle memory/instruction files and skills, and when each one loads.

Colour key: Claude Code Cursor · amber = no direct equivalent in that tool

Quick answers

• Does Cursor have a CLAUDE.md / CLAUDE.local.md? Not by that name. Cursor's equivalent is .cursor/rules/*.mdc (project) + User Rules in Cursor Settings (user). Cursor also reads AGENTS.md (project root) as a simple always-on instruction file. The legacy .cursorrules file is the old single-file equivalent (deprecated).
• Does Cursor have skills? Yes — .cursor/skills/<name>/SKILL.md, same model-invoked-on-description mechanism as Claude's .claude/skills/. In this repo, tool-agnostic skills are real dirs in .cursor/skills/ with symlinks from .claude/skills/.

Instruction / memory files

Two Loads columns because the two tools fire on different triggers — read them per tool.

What	Claude Code	Cursor	Scope	Loads (Claude)	Loads (Cursor)
Global user instructions	~/.claude/CLAUDE.md	User Rules (Cursor Settings → Rules; not a file)	User	Always	Always
Global user rule files	~/.claude/rules/*.md, imported skills	~/.cursor/rules/ (if used)	User	Always / on-demand per frontmatter	Always / on-demand per frontmatter
Project instructions	./CLAUDE.md or ./.claude/CLAUDE.md	AGENTS.md (root) · legacy .cursorrules	Project	Always	Always
Personal project overrides (gitignored)	./CLAUDE.local.md	(no direct equivalent — use a gitignored .cursor/rules/*.mdc)	Project (local)	Always	N/A (use a gitignored rule → per its frontmatter)
Always-on rule	.claude/rules/*.md without paths: frontmatter	.cursor/rules/*.mdc with alwaysApply: true	Project	Always	Always
Path/glob-scoped rule	.claude/rules/*.md with paths: frontmatter	.cursor/rules/*.mdc with globs:	Project	On demand — when you Read a matching file	On demand — when a matching file is attached/in context
Model-decides rule	(no exact equivalent; closest is the CLAUDE.md glob table pointing at a rule)	.cursor/rules/*.mdc with description: only (Agent Requested)	Project	On demand — only if the glob table points the model at it	On demand — model pulls it in by description relevance
Manual / @-mention rule	Listed in CLAUDE.md glob table, read on demand	.cursor/rules/*.mdc with no globs/alwaysApply (Manual)	Project	On demand — when the table/task says to read it	On demand — only when @-mentioned in chat
Nested/subdir instructions	Subdirectory CLAUDE.md	Nested .cursor/rules/ in subfolders	Project (sub-tree)	On demand — when working in that subtree	On demand — when a file in that subtree is in context
Imports	@path inside any CLAUDE.md/rule (e.g. @RTK.md, @.cursor/rules/foo.mdc)	@file.mdc reference inside a rule	Either	Inlined with the host file	Inlined with the host file

Skills

What	Claude Code	Cursor	Scope	Loads (Claude)	Loads (Cursor)
User skill	~/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md	~/.cursor/skills/<name>/SKILL.md	User	On demand — model invokes by description match, or /<name>	On demand — model invokes by description match, or /<name>
Project skill	<repo>/.claude/skills/<name>/SKILL.md	<repo>/.cursor/skills/<name>/SKILL.md	Project	On demand — model invokes by description match, or /<name>	On demand — model invokes by description match, or /<name>
This repo's convention	Tool-agnostic skill = real dir in .cursor/skills/, symlinked into .claude/skills/; tool-specific skills stay in their own tool folder	same source dir	Project	On demand	On demand

Skills are never "always loaded" — only their one-line description is indexed; the full SKILL.md body loads when the skill is invoked (by the model matching the description, or the user typing /name).

Load-timing summary

• Always (every turn/session): Claude ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md, project CLAUDE.md, CLAUDE.local.md, .claude/rules/* without paths: — Cursor: User Rules, AGENTS.md/.cursorrules, alwaysApply: true rules.
• On demand (when relevant): Claude paths:-scoped .claude/rules, subdir CLAUDE.md, all skills — Cursor: globs: rules, description-only rules, manual rules, subdir rules, all skills.

This repo's dual-file rule pattern (Claude ↔ Cursor bridge)

Every glob-scoped rule lives in two files kept in sync:

1. .cursor/rules/<name>.mdc — source of truth (body + Cursor globs:/description:).
2. .claude/rules/<name>.md — thin wrapper carrying only paths: frontmatter + @.cursor/rules/<name>.mdc.

A rule with no globs (manual) gets no .claude wrapper — instead it's listed in the CLAUDE.md glob table as the on-demand index. See CLAUDE.local.md → "When you update a rule, update BOTH sides", and the /sync-rules skill which audits this coverage.