Cursor Environment Docs

Overview

Cursor Environment Docs is an open-source documentation system specifically designed for developers using Cursor AI. It solves the frustrating problem of repeatedly explaining your development environment setup to AI assistants in every new conversation. The system installs a smart documentation framework in your project's .cursor/ directory that AI automatically reads at session start, checks for staleness, and updates in real-time as you develop.

With a simple one-line installation, you get auto-updating documentation that captures your directory structure, shell environment, common commands, tech stack, and—most importantly—environment gotchas and mistakes so you never hit them twice. It's framework-agnostic, git-friendly, and works across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Unlike static documentation that quickly becomes outdated, this system actively maintains itself. Every 7 days (or whenever the AI detects changes), it prompts for a review and update, ensuring your documentation stays synchronized with your actual development environment.

Why we built it

This project was born from real frustration with AI pair programming workflows in Cursor. As a developer working with AI assistants, you constantly encounter the same problems: wasting time explaining your shell syntax (PowerShell vs Bash), hitting the same environment gotchas repeatedly, having AI suggest commands that don't work in your environment, and dealing with inconsistent behavior between different AI conversations.

Traditional documentation sits in a README that gets stale within weeks. You need living documentation that AI assistants can automatically consume and maintain. This system bridges that gap—giving AI the environmental context it needs while requiring minimal maintenance from you.

How it works

The system works through Cursor's native ability to read the .cursor/ directory. When installed, it creates a structured template and AI behavior rules that guide documentation creation and maintenance. At the start of every Cursor conversation, the AI automatically reads your project-environment.md file, checks the "Last Updated" timestamp, and offers to update if it's been more than 7 days.

During development, the AI updates documentation in real-time when it discovers changes—new dependencies, command syntax issues, environment quirks, or tech stack modifications. You also get platform-specific staleness checker scripts you can run manually anytime. The entire .cursor/ directory is designed to be committed to version control, so your whole team benefits from consistent, shared environmental context.

Feature highlights

• 🤖 Auto-Updating Documentation - AI checks every conversation and updates in real-time as you develop
• 📝 Self-Documenting System - Automatically captures gotchas and mistakes so you never repeat them
• 🔄 Cross-Session Consistency - Works seamlessly across all Cursor conversations
• ⚡ 5-Minute Setup - One-line installation, minimal configuration required
• 🔍 Staleness Checker - Know exactly when your docs need attention
• 🎯 Framework Agnostic - Works with any tech stack (Node.js, Python, Rust, Go, etc.)
• 💾 Git-Friendly - Version-controlled documentation your whole team can use
• 🖥️ Cross-Platform - Full support for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• 🤝 Multi-Platform Teams - Documents all team members' platforms in one file
• 📚 Complete Examples - Includes working examples for Node.js/Express and Python/Flask

Notes

• Note: This is a developer tool specifically designed for the Cursor AI IDE. It leverages Cursor's ability to automatically read .cursor/ directories and apply maintenance rules.
• Open Source: Released under MIT License on GitHub
• Active Development: Version 1.0.0 released October 2025, with roadmap including NPM package, VSCode extension, and additional framework examples
• Team-Friendly: The entire .cursor/ directory should be committed to git—it's shared project documentation, not personal IDE settings