Korva vs .cursorrules
A .cursorrules file is the simplest way to give Cursor some project context. It works — until your codebase grows past one stack, one architecture, or one editor. Then its three structural limits start to hurt.
Where .cursorrules stops scaling
- It does not accumulate. The race-condition fix a senior made on Friday never reaches the file — six months later a junior reverts it.
- It does not enforce. Rules are advisory text the model may ignore, and nothing checks the diff at commit time.
- It is Cursor-only. Your team also uses Claude Code, Copilot, Windsurf and Codex — and the file follows none of them.
| Capability | Korva | .cursorrules |
|---|---|---|
| How knowledge is stored | Live SQLite vault per project + 25 curated Lore scrolls + custom team scrolls | A single static file, edited by hand |
| Knowledge that grows over time | Every vault_save adds an observation; vault_context resurfaces it months later | Whatever the file said the day it was written |
| Enforcement at commit time | Sentinel pre-commit blocks 10 built-in architecture, security and naming rules | None — rules are advisory text |
| Context relevance | Only the scrolls and observations relevant to the open file are loaded | The whole file is sent every prompt, relevant or not |
| Multi-editor support | 8 IDEs from one binary — Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Copilot, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini, VS Code | Cursor only |
| Team knowledge sharing | Encrypted cloud config + portal + Skills Hub + audit log (Teams tier) | Commit the file and hope everyone pulls it |
| Privacy posture | Local SQLite, privacy filter on every save, opt-in Hive sync | File lives in the repo — same privacy as the repo |
| Setup time | curl + korva init + korva setup — 30 seconds | Create the file, write rules — 2 minutes |
| License & cost | MIT, free Community tier; Teams from $9/user/mo (launch) | Free, ships with the editor |
A concrete example: the race-condition memory
A senior dev fixes a race condition in payments and writes it down. In .cursorrules the note sits at the bottom of the file and gets skipped. In Korva it lands in the vault as an incident and resurfaces automatically the next time anyone opens the payments code — in any editor.
Keep .cursorrules anyway
Korva does not delete your rule files. Keep a small .cursorrules for project-specific tone — voice, formatting, naming preference — and let Korva handle architecture, security, persistent memory and stack knowledge.
FAQ
Can I use Korva alongside an existing .cursorrules file?
Yes. Korva augments .cursorrules rather than replacing it. Most teams keep a small .cursorrules for tone and let Korva handle architecture rules, persistent memory and stack-specific knowledge.
Does Korva enforce rules in editors other than Cursor?
Yes. Sentinel rules block commits in any editor, because enforcement runs as a pre-commit Git hook that is independent of the IDE.
Is .cursorrules still useful with Korva installed?
For project-specific tone and formatting, yes. For architecture, security and knowledge that must accumulate and be enforced, Korva is the better home.
Add memory and guardrails on top
Install in 30 seconds. Keep your .cursorrules. Korva augments it — it does not replace it.