Before you start — get your stuff together

Before you download or copy the kit, have these ready so setup is smooth.

Project folder

• New project: Decide where your project will live. After you install, the kit (and your app) must be at the project root—the same folder that will contain your code. Don’t unzip the kit into a subfolder and leave it there; move its contents to the root.
• Existing project: Your repo root is the folder that has (or will have) your app, package.json, or main source. The kit files (.cursor/, docs/ai/, etc.) go at that root. See Install by copying.

Design system (if you have UI)

If your project has a user interface (web app, mobile app, dashboard), have these handy so you can fill them in during config:

• Design system name — e.g. “Tailwind,” “Acme UI,” or your internal component library.
• Design system docs — A URL where the AI (and you) can look up components and tokens.
• Import pattern — How you import components in code (e.g. import { Button } from '@/components/ui' or a package name).

If your project has no UI (API, CLI, data pipeline, backend only), you can leave the design system as TODO in docs/ai/ai-config.md. The kit works the same; the AI just won’t have UI guidelines to follow.

Other useful bits (optional)

You can fill these later; they’re not required to start:

• Project brief — One sentence on what the product is, who uses it, and what “done” looks like.
• Stack and conventions — Framework, routing, state, styling, testing. Helps the AI avoid inventing paths.
• Platform type — Short slug describing what you’re building (e.g. consumer-app, data-platform). You’ll set this in ai-config.md; having the slug in mind speeds up Step 2.

Once this is in place, continue with What is this? and Install by copying.