Cursor Notepads: How to Use Them for Agent Context
Cursor Notepads were reusable context packs you @-mentioned into Composer/Agent. Per Cursor’s product notes and forum confirmation, Notepads were removed in Cursor 2.0 (around October 2025). The same jobs now split across Rules, Skills, Memories/User Rules, and ordinary repo Markdown.
This post is a migration howto—not a UI resurrection guide. No pricing.
Notepad vs rules?
One-line answer: Notepads were manual context packages you attached with @; Rules are persistent instructions included automatically or semi-automatically in the agent prompt.
| Former Notepads | Rules today | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Cursor UI notes | .cursor/rules/*.mdc, User/Team Rules |
| Injection | @Notepad in chat | Always / Intelligent / globs / @rule |
| Version control | UI-bound | Project Rules fit git cleanly |
| Status | Removed | Split into Rules + Skills + Memories |
Per the official Rules docs, Project Rules use .mdc frontmatter (description, globs, alwaysApply). A plain .md under .cursor/rules is ignored—use AGENTS.md or normal Markdown for unstructured docs.
Migration mapping:
- Repeated behavioral guidance → Project Rule
- Multi-step workflows → Skill
- Personal prefs (not for the repo) → User Rules / Memories
- Long architecture/onboarding → repo Markdown +
@filewhen needed - Org-wide policy → Team Rules or checked-in Project Rules
For ad-hoc context, Prompting agents covers @ files, folders, terminals, past chats, and diffs. Rules and Skills show up as separate buckets in the context ring.
When should you create one?
One-line answer: Create a Rule/Skill when you repeat the same guidance three times or need path-scoped norms; skip one-off drafts and anything CI already enforces.
Good signals:
- Every PR you retype “run
pnpm test; never commit.env.” - Only
src/api/**must follow a typed error shape. - Release checklists are procedural → prefer a Skill over a fat Rule.
Skip:
- Formatter rules the linter already owns
- Throwaway prompt drafts
- Pasting entire docs into Rules (point at files instead)
Minimal Project Rule:
---
description: API route validation and typed errors
globs: src/routes/api/**/*.ts
alwaysApply: false
---
- Validate inputs at the route boundary.
- Return the existing typed error shape.
- Update the nearest unit test before claiming done.For one-shot task context, prefer @Branch, @Commit, or @Past Chats over growing static notes (agent best practices).
How do you share with a team?
One-line answer: Commit .cursor/rules and AGENTS.md for repo norms; use Team Rules for org-wide policy. Do not rely on the old Notepad UI.
| Scope | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Repo-wide | .cursor/rules/*.mdc, root AGENTS.md | Reviewable in PRs |
| Package-scoped | globs or nested AGENTS.md | Keep blast radius small |
| Org policy | Team Rules | Team/Enterprise; optional Enforce |
| Personal only | User Rules / Memories | Taste and secrets |
Team Rules combine with Project/User Rules; documented precedence is Team → Project → User. Enforce blocks members from disabling the rule in Customize.
Migration checklist:
- Export any remaining Notepads if Cursor 2.0 still offers Export.
- Split behavior / procedure / docs using the mapping above.
- Keep Rules short;
@-reference canonical files. - When teammates repeat a mistake, tighten the Rule—do not pile more notes.
Wrap-up
Cursor Notepads are gone as of 2.0. Treat Notepad vs rules as manual @ packs vs durable Rules/Skills; create when repetition or path scope appears; share via git Rules + Team Rules. See Cursor Rules and Prompting agents.