How to set up Cursor for SpecDD

How-To Set up your agent Beginner 1021003HOWTO-1021003

HOWTO-1021003Set up your agentBeginner

This guide shows you how to set up Cursor for spec-driven development using the universal Agent Skills package.

Cursor is listed as an Agent Skills-compatible client in the SpecDD tools reference. Use the universal package when a dedicated SpecDD plugin is not the right install path for your agent.

Source and install details: github.com/specdd/agentskills

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

Cursor installed
the SpecDD CLI installed
a project where SpecDD is initialized or can be initialized

Steps

1. Initialize SpecDD in the project

From the project root:

specdd init

This creates the project entrypoint and bootstrap files:

AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md
.specdd/
  bootstrap.md
  bootstrap.project.md
  bootstrap.local.md

Commit the shared setup files, but keep .specdd/bootstrap.local.md local.

2. Deploy universal Agent Skills

From the project root, install SpecDD Agent Skills into the current project’s Agent Skills directory:

specdd agentskills deploy

This installs skills into:

.agents/skills

3. Deploy into another project directory

Install into a different project path:

specdd agentskills deploy path/to/project

This is useful when you are preparing a repository before opening it in Cursor.

4. Use user-level or manual install

For a user-level install, use:

specdd agentskills deploy --user

That installs into:

~/.agents/skills

For manual installation, clone the universal Agent Skills package and copy the specdd-* skill directories into the target skills directory Cursor reads.

5. Open the project root in Cursor

Open the folder that contains AGENTS.md, .specdd/, and the root .sdd file.

This matters because SpecDD resolves inherited specs from the selected content root down to the target path.

6. Verify Cursor can use SpecDD

Use a small orientation request:

Orient in this SpecDD project.

For a real feature:

Explain the Itinerary spec.

The response should identify SpecDD context and avoid treating the repository as unstructured source code.

7. Use concise prompts

Once Cursor is set up, use prompts that identify the work:

Plan the Itinerary validation change.

Implement the open validation task.

Common mistakes

Deploying Agent Skills globally but opening Cursor in an environment that only reads project-local skills.
Manually copying the package wrapper instead of the specdd-* skill directories.
Opening a nested folder instead of the SpecDD content root.
Expecting Agent Skills to create specs automatically before the project has been initialized.
Skipping the orientation check after deployment.

How to verify the result

Cursor is ready for SpecDD when:

.agents/skills or ~/.agents/skills contains the SpecDD skills
the project contains .specdd/bootstrap.md
orientation and explanation requests mention relevant specs
plans identify allowed edits, constraints, and checks

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