Can you place your own files inside the .cursor folder?

Discussion
1

This Reddit thread has people discussing using rules for a development log. I was thinking of using the prompt below in .cursor/rules/logging.mdc.

Is this safe though, to tell it to use .cursor/cursor-journal.md? Should I use a different folder? I would like to use the .cursor folder as that makes finding it easy, but maybe that folder is off limits? Can you place files there?

### Development Journal Logging

Whenever you make changes to the codebase — or when commands are run or errors are encountered — append an entry to a Markdown file named `cursor-journal.md` located inside the `.cursor` folder.

Each entry should follow this structure:

---

### [YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm Timezone]

- **Task**: Brief summary of the feature, fix, or action taken

- **Reason**: Why this task was performed (goal, issue addressed, etc.)

- **Changes Made**:

- List of files, classes, methods, or behaviors modified or added

- **Commands Run**:

- Shell or artisan commands used during the change

- **Errors Encountered**:

- Any runtime, setup, test, or linting/static analysis errors (or leave as "None")

---

Do not overwrite or replace existing entries — always append new logs at the end of `cursor-journal.md`.

Use consistent Markdown formatting for clarity and readability.

If no changes are made, no log entry is required.
2

I can’t seem to get this rule to work. For “Rule Type” it’s “Always”, and in Settings>Rules>Project Rules, I can see the logging.mdc file. It says “Applies to: All requests”.

I tried changing the folder that it would save the cursor-journalmd file to local instead of .cursor, but that didn’t work either.

Did I miss a step? Do I have to do anything else? Is the file extension right, for a set of instructions like this?

Any help would be appreciated.