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Project Setup

Configure your BIM development environment for optimal Cursor AI integration. This guide assumes you have already set up Cursor with the necessary prerequisites.

Project Structure Recommendations​

For optimal Cursor performance with BIM projects, organize your workspace as follows:

Configure Cursor Indexing​

Codebase Indexing and Documentation​

Cursor automatically indexes your codebase to provide intelligent AI assistance:

Indexing And Docs

Cursor's indexing and documentation features help provide better context for AI assistance by understanding your codebase structure

Control File Access and Indexing​

Cursor provides two ignore files to control what the AI can access and index:

.cursorignore - Blocks access to files from:

  • Codebase indexing
  • Tab, Agent, and Inline Edit features
  • @ symbol references

.cursorindexingignore - Excludes files from indexing only (files remain accessible to AI features but won't appear in codebase searches)

For BIM projects, use these patterns to optimize performance:

.cursorignore example:

# Block access to large BIM files completely
*.rvt
*.rfa
*.rte
*.rft
*.ifc
*.dwg

# Block access to sensitive files
config.json
secrets/
*.key
*.pem
.env*

# Block access to temporary files
temp/
**/*.tmp
**/*.bak

.cursorindexingignore example:

# Don't index but allow AI access when referenced
docs/archive/
legacy/
**/*.pdf
**/*.xlsx
large_datasets/

# Don't index build outputs
bin/
obj/
dist/
node_modules/

Configure Version Control​

.gitignore for BIM Projects​

Create a .gitignore file:

# Build outputs
bin/
obj/
*.dll
*.exe

# Revit backup files
*.rvt.bak
*.rfa.bak
*.rte.bak

# IFC temporary files
*.ifczip
temp_*.ifc

# Python cache
__pycache__/
*.pyc
*.pyo

# IDE files
.vs/
.vscode/settings.json
*.suo
*.user

# Large model files (optional)
*.rvt
*.rfa
*.ifc

Language-Specific Setup​

C# Revit API Projects​

  1. Revit 2025 Marco: use the template created by Autodesk to start developing.

Python pyRevit Projects​

  1. Start directly with pyRevit 5+: don't need to set up virtual environment, select interpreter and start developing.
  2. Set up virtual environment: if you want develop standalone IFC processing, you need to set up virtual environment.
python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
  1. Create requirements.txt:
ifcopenshell
pandas
numpy
matplotlib
openpyxl

Test Your Setup​

Quick Validation Test​

Cursor Prompt: "Create a simple Revit external command that counts all walls in the active document and displays the result in a TaskDialog."

Expected result: Cursor should generate proper Revit API code with:

  • Correct using statements
  • Proper external command structure
  • Transaction handling
  • Error management

Performance Optimization​

For projects with large code base, refer to the Control File Access and Indexing section above for proper .cursorignore and .cursorindexingignore configuration.

Modern Cursor Configuration​

Setup .cursor/rules/ Directory​

Cursor uses a structured rules system with .cursor/rules/ directory:

Munich Re Rules Structure

Example of a well-organized rules structure from a real project showing domain-specific organization

Basic Rules Setup:

your-project/
├── .cursor/rules/
│   ├── project-standards.mdc    # Core team standards
│   └── bim-patterns.mdc         # BIM-specific patterns
├── .cursorindexingignore        # Exclude large files  
└── your-project-files...

Essential Rule Example (.cursor/rules/project-standards.mdc):

---
description: Core project development standards
alwaysApply: true
---

# Project Standards

## Code Quality
- Include comprehensive error handling
- Use descriptive names for functions and variables
- Add docstrings for all public functions
- Follow PEP 8 for Python, Microsoft conventions for C#

## BIM-Specific Guidelines
- Always use transactions for Revit model modifications
- Validate element existence before processing
- Handle large datasets efficiently

📚 Advanced Rules: For comprehensive DCMvn-specific rules, patterns, and team standards, see the Hands-On Examples

DCMvn Development Standards​

Our team follows these standards across all projects:

  • Modern Cursor Rules: Use .cursor/rules/ directory structure
  • DCMvn Framework: Consistent imports and patterns
  • Documentation: Inline documentation for all functions
  • Version Control: Atomic commits with clear messages
  • Testing: Unit tests for critical BIM operations

📚 Learning Resources​

Official Documentation​

Community Resources​

Next Steps​

With your environment configured, proceed to Your First Project to start developing with Cursor AI.

Configuration guide by DCMvn CO., Ltd - 98.3% digital, 100% pure