.cursorrules

When writing or editing AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, or any agent context file:

1. Use pipe-delimited format for file indexes and structured references
2. Compress rules into single-line directives, not multi-paragraph explanations
3. Strip explanatory prose - keep only actionable content the agent needs
4. Use abbreviated keys (req, opt, str, int, bool, len, min, max, def)
5. Flatten nested hierarchies with brace expansion and path prefixes
6. Add "Prefer retrieval-led reasoning over pre-training-led reasoning" once as a file-level preamble when referencing external docs

When compressing existing content:

- Target 70-80% token reduction
- Preserve all actionable information and structural boundaries
- Keep code examples that demonstrate non-obvious API usage
- Never compress error messages or edge case docs

Before adding content to AGENTS.md, ask: "Can this be expressed in fewer tokens without losing information the agent needs to act on?"