Cursor Codebase Indexing

Overview

What is Codebase Indexing?

Codebase indexing creates a searchable representation of your code:
- Enables @codebase queries
- Powers semantic code search
- Improves AI context awareness
- Helps AI understand project structure

Prerequisites

• Cursor IDE installed and authenticated
• Project workspace with source files
• Sufficient disk space for index storage
• Stable network connection for initial setup

Instructions

1. Open your project in Cursor
2. Navigate to Settings > Cursor > Codebase Indexing
3. Enable “Index this workspace”
4. Create .cursorignore file at project root
5. Add exclusion patterns for large/irrelevant directories
6. Wait for indexing to complete (check status bar)
7. Test with @codebase queries in chat

Output

• Indexed codebase enabling @codebase queries
• Semantic code search functionality
• Improved AI context awareness
• Searchable symbol table and definitions

Error Handling

See {baseDir}/references/errors.md for comprehensive error handling.

Examples

See {baseDir}/references/examples.md for detailed examples.

Resources

• Cursor Indexing Documentation
• gitignore Pattern Syntax
• Cursor Performance Guide