Windcraft vs .cursorrules
Project rule files like .cursorrules and AGENT.md are a real improvement over nothing — they give the model standing instructions instead of a blank slate. But prose decays: "prefer rounded corners" or "use our brand blue" is interpreted fresh on every prompt, and the model fills the gap with whatever hex or radius looks plausible that turn. Windcraft replaces the adjectives with values it reads and a checker that proves it used them.
A .cursorrules file tells the model what you want in words, and words are interpretable — "calm", "consistent", "our spacing" all leave room for the model to guess. Windcraft tells it in tokens, contracts, and patterns: values that are either used or not. And because a rules file is advisory, nothing notices when the model ignores it; Windcraft ships a static analyzer that flags the off-token hex and ad-hoc px before they reach your commit.
| Aspect | .cursorrules | Windcraft |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Prose instructions, re-read per generation | Structured tokens / contracts / patterns over MCP |
| Enforcement | None — you eyeball the diff | Static analyzer flags violations before commit |
| Drift over many pages | Compounds — each prompt reinterprets | Held — every page reads the same values |
| Cross-platform | You restate rules per stack | One source → Tailwind, CSS vars, RN theme |
| Tool coverage | Lives in one editor’s rules file | Served over MCP to any MCP-capable tool |
When .cursorrules is the right call
For a one-page throwaway or a solo prototype you will never extend, a .cursorrules file is lighter and perfectly fine — there is no setup and the model has enough context to stay coherent over a handful of screens. Rules files also carry things Windcraft does not: tone, naming conventions, architectural preferences, and how you like your code structured. Windcraft earns its keep once you have many pages that must agree on the measurable design language, more than one platform, or more than one tool generating UI.
FAQ
- Can I use both?
- Yes, and you probably should. Keep .cursorrules for tone, naming, and code conventions — the things best expressed in prose. Let Windcraft own the measurable design language: color, spacing, radius, and component shape. The two do not overlap, so you get the rules file for how you write code and Windcraft for the values that code must hit.
- Is this just a fancier rules file?
- No. A rules file is prose the model interprets and can quietly ignore. Windcraft serves machine-readable values over MCP — the model reads the exact radius and hex rather than an adjective — and ships a checker that enforces them. Interpretation is removed on the way in, and drift is caught on the way out. A rules file does neither.
- Does it work outside Cursor?
- Yes. A .cursorrules file is tied to one editor, but Windcraft serves its tokens and contracts over MCP, so any MCP-capable tool can read them — Claude Code, Codex, and others. The same design source drives every tool you use, instead of maintaining a separate rules file per editor.