Generate production-ready Zig Cursor rules for Project Rules (.mdc), AGENTS.md, or legacy .cursorrules. This template encodes stack-specific conventions for projects using Zig. Systems programming language with comptime, no hidden control flow, and C ABI interop.
The template focuses Cursor AI on concrete Zig practices instead of generic coding advice. Required sections are always included; optional sections can be enabled when they match your project.
Required guidance
- Code Style & Conventions
- Error Handling & Memory
- Build System & Project Structure
- Testing
Default style
- Indentation: 4 spaces
- Quotes: double
- Semicolons: enabled
- Naming: camelCase
Example Zig Rules
The generator turns these sections into Project Rules with frontmatter, AGENTS.md, or a single .cursorrules file depending on the output format you choose.
Code Style & Conventions
- Use 4 spaces for indentation — follow the official Zig style guide.
- Use snake_case for function names, variable names, and file names.
- Use PascalCase for type names (structs, enums, unions).
- Use descriptive variable names — avoid single-letter names except for loop indices.
- Use double quotes for string literals.
- Use const by default — only use var when mutability is required.
- Group imports: standard library first, then third-party, then local modules.
Error Handling & Memory
- Use explicit error unions (Error!T) for functions that can fail — never use unreachable for expected errors.
- Use try/catch for error propagation at the call site.
- Use errdefer for cleanup on error paths — it runs only when the enclosing scope exits with an error.
- Prefer stack allocation over heap allocation when possible.
- Use allocator.alloc() and allocator.free() for heap memory — always pair allocations with frees.
- Use defer for resource cleanup: defer allocator.free(buffer).
- Use ArenaAllocator for short-lived allocations, GeneralPurposeAllocator for general use.
- Use @intCast, @floatCast, @truncate for explicit numeric conversions — avoid implicit casts.
Build System & Project Structure
- Use build.zig for project configuration — define executables, libraries, tests, and dependencies.
- Use build.zig.zon for package manager dependencies.
- Organize source in src/ with main.zig as the entry point.
- Use modules for logical grouping: pub const module_name = @import("module.zig").
- Use the Zig standard library (@import("std")) for cross-platform abstractions.
- Enable full optimizations in ReleaseSafe mode for production builds.
- Use ReleaseFast for maximum performance, ReleaseSmall for minimal binary size.
- Use Debug mode during development for safety checks and stack traces.
Common Searches This Page Helps With
zig cursor ruleszig .cursorruleszig AGENTS.md
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Zig Cursor rules template include?
It includes 4 rule sections covering code style & conventions, error handling & memory, build system & project structure and other Zig development conventions.
Can I generate Zig Project Rules and AGENTS.md from the same template?
Yes. The generator can export the same stack-specific guidance as modern Project Rules (.mdc), AGENTS.md, or a legacy .cursorrules file.
Should I combine Zig with other Cursor rules templates?
Yes. You can combine Zig with related templates such as TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Docker, or backend frameworks when your project uses multiple technologies.