Cursor Commands vs Rules: When to Use What

If you're using Cursor as your AI-powered code editor, you've probably noticed two distinct ways to guide the AI: commands and rules. They might seem similar at first, but they serve very different purposes. Understanding the distinction will make you significantly more productive.

What Are Commands?

Commands are one-off, inline instructions you give to Cursor in the moment. You trigger them with Cmd+K (inline edit) or through the chat panel (Cmd+L).

Think of commands as conversations. You're telling the AI what to do right now:

• "Refactor this function to use async/await"
• "Add error handling to this API call"
• "Write tests for this component"

Commands are ephemeral — they execute once and they're done. The AI doesn't remember them for the next task.

When to use commands

• Ad-hoc edits: You need a quick refactor, rename, or rewrite
• Exploratory work: You're trying different approaches and want the AI to generate options
• One-time generation: Writing a single test file, a migration script, or boilerplate
• Context-specific tasks: The instruction only makes sense for this exact piece of code

What Are Rules?

Rules are persistent instructions that shape how Cursor behaves across your entire project. You define them in .cursorrules (project-level) or in Cursor's settings (global).

Think of rules as personality configuration. They tell the AI who it should be:

You are a senior TypeScript developer.
Always use functional components with hooks.
Prefer named exports over default exports.
Use Tailwind CSS for styling — never inline styles.
Write concise comments only for non-obvious logic.

Rules are always active — every time the AI generates or edits code, it follows your rules automatically. You don't have to repeat yourself.

When to use rules

• Coding standards: Enforce consistent patterns across your codebase (naming conventions, file structure, import ordering)
• Tech stack preferences: Tell the AI which libraries to use and which to avoid
• Style guide enforcement: "Always use single quotes", "Prefer const over let"
• Architectural decisions: "Use server components by default in Next.js", "Keep business logic out of UI components"
• Team alignment: When multiple people use Cursor on the same repo, rules keep the AI consistent

The Key Difference

	Commands	Rules
Scope	Single task	Entire project
Lifetime	One-off	Persistent
Trigger	You type it each time	Always active
Best for	"Do this now"	"Always do it this way"
Analogy	Asking a colleague a question	Setting team coding standards

Combining Them Effectively

The real power comes from using both together. Here's a practical workflow:

Rules set the baseline — your project's coding DNA:

Use TypeScript strict mode.
Prefer Drizzle ORM over raw SQL.
All API routes should validate input.
Use Zod for runtime validation.

Commands handle the specifics on top of that baseline:

"Create a new API route for user registration that validates email format and checks for duplicate accounts"

The AI will follow your rules (TypeScript, Drizzle, Zod validation) while executing the specific command (user registration endpoint). You get consistency and flexibility.

A Rule of Thumb

If you're about to type the same instruction for the third time, it should be a rule.

That's it. If you keep telling Cursor "use functional components" or "add error handling to every API call," stop repeating yourself and put it in .cursorrules. Save your commands for the creative, context-specific work that changes every time.

Conclusion

Commands and rules aren't competing features — they're complementary layers. Rules handle the how (your standards, your style, your stack), and commands handle the what (the specific task at hand). Master both, and you'll spend less time correcting the AI and more time shipping code.