/composer-prompting

name: composer-prompting
description: Internal guidance for shaping a well-specified coding task into a tight Cursor/Composer prompt before delegating it via /cursor:delegate
user-invocable: false

Composer Prompting

Use this skill when the `cursor-runner` subagent (or the main Claude thread) needs to turn a well-specified coding task into a prompt for the Cursor CLI (`cursor-agent`, Composer by default).

Cursor has **no conversation context** — whatever the target repo expects, you must bake into the prompt you send. Prompt Composer like a fast executor with a precise contract, not a collaborator you can clarify with mid-run. State the goal, the exact end state, the files it may touch, and how "done" is verified.

Ground the prompt in the target repo first

Before writing the prompt, use `Read` (only) to check the target repo for:

• `AGENTS.md`, `CLAUDE.md`, `.cursor/rules/**`, `.github/copilot-instructions.md`, `CONTRIBUTING.md` — convention files.
• `package.json` / `Taskfile.yml` / `Makefile` / `justfile` — to learn which commands build and test the project.
• `README.md` — for the overall project goal (one sentence is enough).

**Language and style follow the target repo, not this plugin.** If the repo's commits, comments, or UI strings are in Czech / German / any other language, Composer must match — do not force English. If the repo is mixed (code in English, user copy in Czech), say so explicitly. When in doubt, tell Cursor: "match the existing style of surrounding files."

References — read the one you need

• **[references/prompt-anatomy.md](references/prompt-anatomy.md)** — the five mandatory prompt sections + guardrails block, with a full worked example. Read before composing any delegate prompt.
• **[references/model-selection.md](references/model-selection.md)** — the model escalation ladder, chunking heuristics for oversized plans, and resume-vs-fresh routing.
• **[references/composer-antipatterns.md](references/composer-antipatterns.md)** — prompt shapes that reliably produce bad Composer runs, each with the fix. Skim when a previous run went sideways.

Assembly checklist

1. Ground the prompt in the target repo's conventions and verify commands. 2. Write the five sections plus the guardrails block, in order (see prompt-anatomy). 3. Chunk anything bigger than one reviewable slice (see model-selection). 4. Pick the smallest model that fits; default to `composer-2.5-fast`. 5. Decide resume vs fresh. 6. Remove redundant instructions before sending.