Cursor / Claude Code / Copilot Integration

How to set up IDE-based coding agents to understand and work with your codex vault.

Overview

IDE agents (Cursor, Claude Code, GitHub Copilot) read instruction files at the root of your project to understand context and conventions. By pointing these files at your codex’s _codex/ meta layer, the agent gets full context on structure, naming, and procedures.

Setup by Platform

Cursor — .cursorrules

Create .cursorrules in your codex vault root:

# Codex Vault Rules

You are working in a personal knowledge codex — a structured Obsidian vault.

## Boot Context
Read these files FIRST before any operation:
- _codex/INTERFACE.md — how to interact with this vault
- _codex/CONVENTIONS.md — naming, frontmatter, and structure rules
- _codex/system/IDENTITY.md — what this codex is and who it belongs to

## Domain Structure
- 00-24 UI/ — Technology, AI, infrastructure
- 25-49 HP/ — Health, skills, personal development
- 50-74 LE/ — Family, home, legacy
- 75-99 GE/ — Business, ventures, wealth

## Rules
- Every new file MUST have YAML frontmatter (title, type, domain, tags, ai_summary)
- Use kebab-case filenames with domain prefix (e.g., ui-03-nats-architecture.md)
- Route files to the correct domain folder based on content
- Never create new top-level folders — use existing domains or 06 Inbox/
- ai_summary is required — one sentence, context for search results
- Check _codex/CONVENTIONS.md before creating any file

Claude Code — CLAUDE.md

Create CLAUDE.md in your codex vault root:

# CLAUDE.md
 
This is a personal knowledge codex — a structured vault of markdown notes.
 
## First Steps
Before any operation, read:
1. `_codex/INTERFACE.md` — interaction patterns
2. `_codex/CONVENTIONS.md` — naming and structure rules
3. `_codex/system/IDENTITY.md` — vault identity
 
## Structure
The vault uses numbered domain ranges (00-24, 25-49, 50-74, 75-99).
Each note has YAML frontmatter with: title, type, domain, tags, ai_summary.
See `_codex/CONVENTIONS.md` for the full spec.
 
## Key Rules
- Always add frontmatter to new files
- Route notes to the correct domain folder
- Never create top-level folders
- New unrouted content goes to `06 Inbox/`

GitHub Copilot — .github/copilot-instructions.md

Create .github/copilot-instructions.md:

# Copilot Instructions
 
This workspace is a personal knowledge codex (structured Obsidian vault).
 
Read `_codex/INTERFACE.md` for interaction patterns.
Read `_codex/CONVENTIONS.md` for file naming and frontmatter standards.
 
All markdown files use YAML frontmatter with: title, type, domain, tags, ai_summary.
Domain folders use numbered ranges: 00-24 (tech), 25-49 (health), 50-74 (family), 75-99 (business).

AGENTS.md (Universal)

AGENTS.md works with multiple AI coding agents (Cursor, Copilot, Windsurf, etc.):

# AGENTS.md
 
## What This Is
A personal knowledge codex — structured markdown vault with YAML frontmatter.
 
## Read First
- `_codex/INTERFACE.md` — how to interact with this vault
- `_codex/CONVENTIONS.md` — naming, structure, frontmatter rules
- `_codex/system/IDENTITY.md` — vault identity and owner
 
## Domain Map
| Range | Domain | Content |
|-------|--------|---------|
| 00-24 | UI | Technology, AI, infrastructure |
| 25-49 | HP | Health, skills, personal growth |
| 50-74 | LE | Family, home, legacy planning |
| 75-99 | GE | Business, ventures, wealth |
 
## Rules
1. Every file needs YAML frontmatter (title, type, domain, tags, ai_summary)
2. Route to correct domain folder
3. Use kebab-case filenames
4. New content without a clear domain goes to 06 Inbox/
5. Never create new top-level folders

What The Agent Gets

With any of these setups, the IDE agent will:

1. Understand structure — knows the domain folders and what goes where
2. Follow conventions — adds proper frontmatter, uses correct naming
3. Route correctly — puts new notes in the right domain folder
4. Search effectively — knows to use ai_summary for quick context
5. Respect boundaries — won’t create random top-level folders or break structure

Tips

• Keep rules files small. The agent’s context window is limited. Point to _codex/ files rather than duplicating their content.
• Test with a simple task. Ask the agent to “create a note about X” and verify it adds frontmatter and routes correctly.
• Update when conventions change. If you add a new domain or change naming rules, update your rules file.
• Symlink for multi-repo. If your codex is in one repo and code is in another, symlink the rules file or use _codex/INTERFACE.md as the canonical reference.