Custom modes - Cursor Documentation

Custom modes for Cursor

Custom modes allows you to compose new modes with tools and prompts that fits your workflow. These are in addition to Agent and Ask mode which are built-in.

Beta feature. You can enable custom modes from Settings → Features → Chat → Custom modes

Creating a custom mode

To create a custom mode, you can open the mode menu and click Add custom mode. From there, you will have the option to select name, icon, shortcut as well as enabled tools and custom instructions.

We’re considering adding a .cursor/modes.json file to your project to make it easier to create and share custom modes.

Example modes

Teach

Encourages detailed explanations and frequent clarifying questions, without automatically applying edits or running tools.

Tools	Custom Instructions
All `Search`	Focus on explaining concepts thoroughly and ask clarifying questions before providing solutions

Refactor

Focuses exclusively on enhancing existing code structure, without introducing new functionality or reading additional files.

Tools	Custom Instructions
`Edit & Reapply`	Focus solely on improving existing code structure without adding new functionality

Plan

Generates comprehensive implementation plans without directly modifying code, documenting the approach clearly in a plan.md file.

Tools	Custom Instructions
`Codebase`, `Read file`, `Terminal`	Create detailed implementation plans without making direct code changes. Write it to `plan.md`

Research

Collects extensive information from various sources, including web searches and codebase exploration, before recommending solutions.

Tools	Custom Instructions
`Codebase`, `Web`, `Read file`, `Search files`	Gather comprehensive information from multiple sources before suggesting solutions

Yolo

Aggressively applies all available tools, making bold changes proactively with minimal user confirmation.

Tools	Custom Instructions
All tools with `Auto-apply edits` and `Auto-run` enabled	Take initiative and make bold changes with minimal confirmation

Review

Analyzes code quality and recent modifications thoroughly, utilizing git commands and other tools, without automatically resolving issues.

Tools	Custom Instructions
`Codebase`, `Grep`, `Read file`, `Terminal`	Analyze code quality and recent changes without automatically fixing issues

Debug

Conducts an in-depth investigation by gathering extensive context from source files and terminal outputs, then proposes precise, targeted fixes.

Tools	Custom Instructions
All `Search`, `Terminal`, `Edit & Reapply`	Thoroughly investigate issues by gathering extensive context before proposing targeted fixes