Feature Request: Global User-Level "Custom Agents"

Ideas Feature Requests
,
1

Feature request for product/service

Cursor IDE

Describe the request

Feature Request: Global User-Level “Custom Agents”

Hi Cursor Team,

I am a long-time VS Code user who has recently migrated to Cursor. The AI features are game-changing, but I’ve hit a significant friction point regarding workflow consistency: the lack of “User-Level Custom Agents”

In VS Code, I can define saved agent personas—for example, an “Architect” agent (focused on high-level system design and patterns) or a “Builder” agent (focused on writing implementation code). Currently, in Cursor, to achieve this level of specialization, I have to manually create and maintain .cursor/rules files in every single project. I can also assign the preferred model for each agent.

The Workaround vs. The Need:

  • Current Workaround: Copy-pasting project-level rules or manually mentioning files with @ for every new session. This is tedious, prone to “context rot,” and hard to keep updated across multiple repositories.
  • The Need: A Global Settings area where I can define named “Agent Personas” (e.g., Architect.md, Builder.md) that I can invoke globally using a simple command, such as @Architect or by selecting a “Persona” in the Composer/Chat dropdown.

These personas should act as a “System Prompt” layer specific to my preferences, which I can toggle based on the task at hand without polluting project-specific rule files.

Adding this would allow power users to maintain a “standard library” of coding behaviors that follow us across all projects, significantly boosting productivity and consistency.

Thanks for building an incredible tool!

Operating System (if it applies)

Windows 10/11
MacOS
Linux

4

I believe you can already do this by using /create-subagent to create custom agents similar to Copilot. These are user-level and get stored in ~/.cursor/agents.

7

Hey good news, what you’re describing already works, and @azhang above pointed you in the right direction.

Two things cover your use case:

  1. User-level subagents. Create .md files in ~/.cursor/agents/ (in your home directory, not in the project). The easiest way is via /create-subagent. Each file is a named agent with its own instructions and its own model: in the frontmatter, and it’s available across all projects. You can invoke it via @mention (for example @Architect) or from the slash menu. This is exactly a standard library that follows you between repos.

  2. User Rules. In Cursor Settings > Rules you can add global User Rules. This is a persistent system prompt layer that applies to all projects at once, without copying .cursor/rules into every repo.

Using both together gives you the personas (instructions + model + tools) you want. We removed the old dropdown Custom Modes in 2.1 in favor of subagents and skills, so this is the supported replacement for what you were used to in VS Code.

More on subagents: Subagents | Cursor Docs

Let me know if anything doesn’t work.