AI Tool Setup

Configure Cursor, Zoo Code, Antigravity, Zed, or Claude Code to leverage the engrams CLI. Because Engrams is a standard terminal command, setup requires no background servers — just a custom system instruction.

The Core Rule Template

Add the following instructions to your tool's custom instructions or rules file. This teaches the AI agent exactly when and how to call the engrams binary:

## Memory & Project Context (Engrams CLI)
You have access to the `engrams` CLI command in this workspace. It manages project memory (ADRs, patterns, progress, context) in a local SQLite database.

1. **Orientation at Startup:**
   At the beginning of a conversation, run:
   `engrams product-context get`
   `engrams active-context get`
   `engrams activity --hours 24`
   to orient yourself with the tech stack, current goals, and recent changes.

2. **Check Before Implementing:**
   Before writing code or making design choices, search the database to check for existing decisions and patterns:
   `engrams decision search "<topic>"`
   `engrams pattern list`
   Always align your work with these established guidelines.

3. **Log Design Decisions:**
   When you make an architectural choice or solve a design problem, log it:
   `engrams decision log --summary "<choice>" --rationale "<reason>"`

4. **Track Task Progress:**
   Update your progress as you work:
   `engrams progress log --status "InProgress" --description "<task>"`
   When complete, log the update with `--status "Done"`.

5. **Session handoff:**
   Before ending the session, update the active context to orient the next agent:
   `engrams active-context update --content '{"focus": "<next_task>", "status": "InProgress"}'`

Tool-Specific Locations

Place the template above in the appropriate location for your preferred AI tool:

Zoo Code

Create a new rule file in your project root at:
.roo/rules/engrams-memory.md (or .zoo/rules/engrams-memory.md)

Cursor

Create or append to the rules file in your project root at:
.cursorrules (or create a file in .cursor/rules/)

Antigravity

Create or append to the rules file in your project root at:
.antigravityrules

Zed

Add the instruction template to your custom instructions or workspace settings at:
.zed/settings.json

Claude Code

Create a file named CLAUDE.md in your project root. Claude Code reads this file automatically at startup to determine build, test, and style commands.