Where Are Cursor Skills Stored Locally? A Complete Guide to AWS Agent Toolkit Paths

Cursor skills are stored locally in either ~/.cursor/skills/ for global (user-wide) access or .cursor/skills/ for project-specific installations, as defined by the AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS.

The AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS establishes canonical filesystem locations for the Cursor AI coding agent to discover and load skill packages. Understanding where Cursor skills are stored locally enables developers to correctly install, share, and version-control AI-assisted coding capabilities across individual projects or entire development environments.

Default Cursor Skill Locations

The repository defines two primary installation scopes for Cursor skills, each serving different development workflows.

Global (User-Wide) Installation Path

When you install a skill globally, Cursor places the folder under your home directory at ~/.cursor/skills/. This location makes the skill available across all repositories and projects on your local machine.

Skills installed here persist across different codebases and remain accessible regardless of which directory you open in Cursor. This path is ideal for utility skills you use daily, such as AWS service helpers or common refactoring tools.

Project-Relative Installation Path

For repository-specific capabilities, skills live in a hidden .cursor/skills/ directory at the root of the project. This approach keeps skill definitions version-controlled alongside your codebase, ensuring team members use identical AI-assisted workflows.

When Cursor launches within a project containing this directory, it automatically discovers and loads any skills placed there, overriding or supplementing global installations as needed.

How to Install Skills in These Locations

The AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS supports both installation methods through simple filesystem operations.

Install a skill globally for use across all projects:

# Copy skill folder to the global Cursor directory

cp -R path/to/skill ~/.cursor/skills/

Install a skill only for the current repository:

# Create the local directory if it doesn't exist

mkdir -p .cursor/skills/

# Copy skill into the project-specific location

cp -R path/to/skill .cursor/skills/

Programmatically locate project-relative skills in automation scripts:

import os

# Construct the path to local Cursor skills

skill_dir = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), ".cursor", "skills")

# Verify the directory exists before loading

if os.path.exists(skill_dir):
    # Cursor agent can now discover skill files in `skill_dir`

    pass

Key Files That Define Cursor Skill Discovery

The AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS documents these paths in specific configuration and documentation files within the repository.

skills/README.md – This file contains the canonical reference table mapping each supported AI coding agent (including Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and Kiro) to their respective global and project skill directories. The documentation explicitly lists: "| Cursor | ~/.cursor/skills/ | .cursor/skills/ |".

.cursor-plugin/marketplace.json – Located in the repository root, this manifest defines the Cursor plugin configuration that the agent uses to locate and validate skill packages. It establishes the contract between the Cursor IDE and the skill directories outlined in the README.

Summary

• Global path: ~/.cursor/skills/ stores skills accessible across all repositories on your machine.
• Project path: .cursor/skills/ stores repository-specific skills that travel with your codebase.
• Source documentation: The skills/README.md file in aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws officially defines these locations.
• Installation method: Simple directory copying or version-controlled placement enables immediate skill discovery by the Cursor agent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between global and project-relative Cursor skill storage?

Global storage at ~/.cursor/skills/ makes skills available machine-wide across every project you open in Cursor, while project-relative storage at .cursor/skills/ restricts skills to a specific repository. Use global storage for personal productivity tools and project-relative storage for team-standardized workflows that must remain consistent across development environments.

Can I use both global and project-specific skills simultaneously?

Yes. Cursor loads skills from both locations, with project-specific skills typically taking precedence over global ones when naming conflicts occur. The AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS design allows project-relative skills to override or extend global capabilities, enabling repository-specific customizations while maintaining baseline tooling.

Where does the AWS Agent Toolkit for AWS document these storage locations?

The official documentation resides in skills/README.md within the aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws repository. This file contains a comprehensive table mapping each supported agent—including Cursor—to its global directory (~/.cursor/skills/) and project directory (.cursor/skills/), providing the authoritative reference for skill installation.

{
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}