RuleStack
Counted 08:17 UTC

Real files, at real paths, counted every night

RuleStack
Real files, at real paths, counted every nightCounted 08:17 UTCDiff two files
7,205instruction files1,198repositories visited4,189rows written36files changed8formats20section tags85stacksCounted 13 September 2026
AGENTS.md617 repos, 60.4%CLAUDE.md359 repos, 35.2%.cursor/rules/*.mdc310 repos, 30.4%.github/copilot-instructions.md190 repos, 18.6%.clinerules188 repos, 18.4%GEMINI.md48 repos, 4.7%.windsurf/rules/*.md38 repos, 3.7%.cursorrules36 repos, 3.5%

.windsurf/rules/*.md is in 38 repositories. The median one runs 606 words.

Cursor's activation model with a different vocabulary, trigger modes instead of rule types, plus hard character caps, which is the one place a format here will silently drop instructions rather than fail loudly.

WindsurfWindsurfvendorSince 2024-11-01All 160 indexed files
Measured

What the nightly counted in real repositories

Counted 13 September 2026
Repositories carrying it38 3.7% of the corpus
Files that write down a command38.1%
Files carrying a code block68.8%
Hard prohibitions87.5% of 8 root files
Code style75.0% of 8 root files
Agent behaviour50.0% of 8 root files
Types37.5% of 8 root files
Tests37.5% of 8 root files
Setup & install37.5% of 8 root files
Documentation37.5% of 8 root files
APIs & contracts25.0% of 8 root files
UI & components12.5% of 8 root files
Architecture12.5% of 8 root files
Database & migrations12.5% of 8 root files
Deploy & release12.5% of 8 root files
Monorepo12.5% of 8 root files
Performance12.5% of 8 root files
Security12.5% of 8 root files
Testing strategy12.5% of 8 root files
Every night counted

Repositories carrying Windsurf rules, one column a night

24 nights stored
2026-08-0113 to 38 repositories2026-09-13
Asserted

What the documentation says this file can express

Read 1 August 2026
File.windsurf/rules/*.md
OwnerWindsurf
Tools that read it2 tools
Glob targetingYes
ImportsNo
FrontmatterYes
Nested filesNo
User scopeYes

Read from the format’s own documentation and checked by hand. Capabilities are asserted; adoption is measured.

Four trigger modes in frontmatter: always_on, glob, model_decision, manual. The legacy single-file .windsurfrules is still read.

Size guidance: Per-rule and total character caps apply; long rules are truncated rather than rejected.

WindsurfWindsurfCascadeCascade
What it does well
Trigger modes give the same glob and on-demand targeting as Cursor rules
Workspace and global rule scopes
What it cannot do
Windsurf-only
Character caps truncate silently, a long rule can be half-applied with no error
No imports
Counted pairwise

Repositories that carry Windsurf rules and something else

Counted 13 September 2026

The percentage is of repositories carrying Windsurf rules, which is the number a “Windsurf rules versus something” search is really asking for.

Cursor rules84.2%32 carry both, 10.3% the other wayAGENTS.md76.3%29 carry both, 4.7% the other wayCline rules71.1%27 carry both, 14.4% the other wayCLAUDE.md65.8%25 carry both, 7.0% the other wayCopilot instructions57.9%22 carry both, 11.6% the other wayGEMINI.md39.5%15 carry both, 31.3% the other way.cursorrules18.4%7 carry both, 19.4% the other way
The files

160 Windsurf rules files match in the corpus. These score highest.

All 160
NoRepository and pathCoversScoreChanged
001Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/organize-workspace.md89 /1001 month ago002Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/guard-git.md89 /1001 month ago003Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/develop-tdd.md85 /1001 month ago004Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/quick-fix.md85 /1001 month ago005Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/commit-message.md82 /1002 days ago006Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/session-state.md82 /1001 month ago007Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/extract-design.md82 /1001 month ago008Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/setup-environment.md81 /1001 month ago009Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/wire-ci.md81 /1001 month ago010Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/hook-commits.md78 /1001 month ago011Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/kickoff-branch.md78 /1002 days ago012Shelldanielvm-git/bigpowers.windsurf/rules/deploy.md77 /1001 month ago