AI Development Guides
Setup Guide
How to install and configure Motia AI Development Guides in your project
AI Development Guides Setup Guide
This guide will help you install and configure Motia's AI Development Guides in your project. These guides are designed to work with any AI tool or IDE—including Cursor, VS Code, Claude, ChatGPT, and more.
Universal Compatibility
Motia's guides are universal and work with any AI tool or IDE—not just Cursor!
Prerequisites
⚡
Node.js 18+
Latest Node.js runtime for CLI tools
🏗️
Motia Project
Create one with npx motia@latest create
🤖
AI Tool/IDE
Any AI-powered code editor or AI assistant
Installation Methods
Pull AI development guides
This will create the following in your project root:
- AGENTS.md – Universal guide for any AI tool or IDE
- CLAUDE.md – Claude-specific guide with advanced techniques
- .cursor/rules/ – IDE-specific patterns for Cursor (do not place AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md inside this folder)
Project Structure After Setup
After installation, your project should look like this:
AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md
complete-application-patterns.mdc
complete-backend-generator.mdc
multi-language-workflows.mdc
api-steps.mdc
event-steps.mdc
authentication-patterns.mdc
background-job-patterns.mdc
realtime-streaming.mdc
ai-agent-patterns.mdc
...
package.json
config.yml
Important:
- AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md should be in your project root, not inside
.cursor/rules/.- Only
.mdcrule files go inside.cursor/rules/.
Configuration for Different AI Tools
Cursor IDE Setup
- Open your project in Cursor.
- Cursor will automatically detect the
.cursor/rules/directory and use the.mdcrule files for suggestions. - Reference AGENTS.md (in your project root) for universal patterns and guidance.
- Use CLAUDE.md for Claude-specific advanced techniques.
VS Code with GitHub Copilot
- Install the GitHub Copilot extension.
- Open AGENTS.md in VS Code to understand available patterns.
- Reference specific guides in your prompts to Copilot.
- Use CLAUDE.md patterns when working with Claude.
Claude AI Assistant
- Open CLAUDE.md (from your project root)—this is specifically designed for Claude.
- Copy relevant sections into your Claude conversations.
- Reference AGENTS.md for broader architectural guidance.
- Use the structured templates provided in CLAUDE.md.
ChatGPT or Other AI Tools
- Start with AGENTS.md—it's universal for all AI tools.
- Copy relevant patterns into your AI conversations.
- Reference specific Cursor rules (
.mdcfiles) as needed. - Adapt the patterns to your AI tool's prompt format.
Verification
Test that AI guides are set up correctly:
Need help? See our Community Resources for questions, examples, and discussions.