.editor/
  profile.json           # Project manifest (stack, extensions, cursor plugins, settings)
  defaults.settings.json # Shared baseline merged into every project
.vscode/                 # Generated — commit to git
  settings.json
  extensions.json
.cursor/                 # Generated — commit to git
  hooks.json             # workspaceOpen → load-workspace-plugins.mjs
scripts/
  sync-editor-profile.mjs   # Regenerate .vscode + .cursor/hooks.json
  load-workspace-plugins.mjs  # Hook: emit pluginPaths from profile

Workflow checklist

- [ ] 1. Detect stack (package.json, configs, test runners)
- [ ] 2. Edit .editor/profile.json (extensions, cursor.plugins, settings overrides)
- [ ] 3. Run: pnpm editor:sync (or node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs)
- [ ] 4. Reload window; accept recommended extensions when prompted
- [ ] 5. Confirm Cursor plugins load (hooks) or install missing marketplace plugins
- [ ] 6. Commit .editor/, .vscode/, .cursor/hooks.json

Step 1: Detect stack

Signal	File / dep	Typical extensions	Unwanted (other stacks)
Next.js	`next`, `next.config.*`	Biome, Tailwind CSS IntelliSense	ESLint, Prettier (legacy)
React	`react`, `react-dom`	ESLint	—
TypeScript	`typescript`, `tsconfig.json`	Biome; use workspace `typescript.tsdk`	—
Tailwind	`tailwindcss`, `@tailwindcss/postcss`	Tailwind CSS IntelliSense	—
Playwright	`@playwright/test`, `playwright.config.*`	Playwright	—

Do not recommend extensions for stacks the repo does not use — reduces attack surface and UI noise (audit-ide-dependencies).

Step 2: Edit `profile.json`

Minimal shape:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "stack": ["next", "typescript", "pnpm"],
  "extensions": {
    "recommend": ["dbaeumer.vscode-eslint"],
    "unwanted": ["rust-lang.rust-analyzer"]
  },
  "cursor": {
    "plugins": [
      { "name": "shadcn", "publisher": "cursor-public", "optional": true }
    ]
  },
  "settings": {
    "eslint.useFlatConfig": true
  }
}

extensions.recommend → .vscode/extensions.json recommendations (VS Code/Cursor prompt to install).
extensions.unwanted → unwantedRecommendations (discourage irrelevant global extensions).
cursor.plugins → resolved under $CURSOR_HOME/plugins/cache/<publisher>/<name>/<hash>/ by load-workspace-plugins.mjs on workspaceOpen (Cursor hooks).
settings → merged over .editor/defaults.settings.json into .vscode/settings.json.

Step 3: Generate

pnpm editor:sync
# or: node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs

Never hand-edit generated .vscode/settings.json long-term — change profile.json and re-sync.

Formatter / extension settings (important)

Cursor validates editor.defaultFormatter against installed extensions only. If ESLint is only recommended but not installed, use built-ins in profile.settings:

vscode.typescript-language-features — TS/JS format
vscode.json-language-features — JSON

Put extension-only keys in .editor/profile.extensions.json (merged by editor:sync only when that extension exists under ~/.cursor/extensions/). devprofile uses Biome (biomejs.biome) for lint + format — not ESLint.

Step 4: Good defaults (baseline)

defaults.settings.json already sets:

2-space indent, final newline, trim whitespace
File nesting for package.json / lockfiles / configs
TypeScript import preferences and move-update-imports
Sensible git/terminal defaults

Override per project in profile.settings only when needed (e.g. eslint.useFlatConfig, Tailwind v4 experimental.configFile, Playwright reuse browser).

devprofile baseline: Biome formatter/linter, workspace TypeScript SDK, .next / test output excludes. Tailwind/Playwright extension keys merge from profile.extensions.json when installed.

Step 5: Cursor vs VS Code

Feature	VS Code / Cursor	Notes
Workspace settings	`.vscode/settings.json`	Same JSON schema
Extension recommendations	`.vscode/extensions.json`	Cursor uses same file
Cursor marketplace plugins	`.cursor/hooks.json` + `load-workspace-plugins.mjs`	Requires plugin installed in Cursor once; hook loads cache path per workspace
User settings	`~/.config/Cursor/User/settings.json`	Global — do not duplicate project overrides here

Optional: symlink agent skills per AGENTS.md; unrelated to profile.json.

Step 6: New project / extend

Copy .editor/defaults.settings.json and scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs, scripts/load-workspace-plugins.mjs.
Add "editor:sync": "node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs" to package.json.
Author .editor/profile.json from stack table above.
Run pnpm editor:sync and commit outputs.

For monorepos, use one profile at the root or per-package profiles with separate sync invocations (node scripts/sync-editor-profile.mjs from each package after adjusting paths — extend script if needed).

Anti-patterns

Putting project-only settings in global Cursor settings.json
Recommending every extension you personally use globally
Hand-editing .vscode/settings.json without updating profile.json
Listing Cursor plugins in profile.json that were never installed from the marketplace (use "optional": true or install first)
Running npm audit fix inside ~/.cursor/extensions (audit-ide-dependencies)

Related skills

audit-ide-dependencies — audit extension/plugin CVEs under ~/.cursor
fix-dependency-security — project pnpm audit, SFW installs

project-editor-profile

Project editor profile

Layout