01 · install-cursor-node

What this scenario proves

The most common adoption shape: a developer with a fresh Vite/Next/Express-style Node + TypeScript repo opens Cursor and asks the agent to install Archon. The agent follows aaep.site/install.md, detects Cursor as IDE_PLATFORM, lays the binding under .cursor/, picks the husky-based pre-commit hook, and produces a tree that passes scripts/archon-check.py on the first run.

Failure here means Archon is broken on its #1 target stack.

Test environment

Fixture	fixtures/sandbox-node-ts
IDE	Cursor (latest stable)
OS	macOS 14 / Ubuntu 22.04 / Windows 11 + WSL2
Archon source	https://aaep.site/manifest.json
Manifest version under test	v0.1.0
Language toolchain	Node 20.11+, npm 10+

Pre-conditions

1. Cursor is signed in and the agent has web-fetch + write tools.
2. Fixture copied: cp -r fixtures/sandbox-node-ts /tmp/archon-test-01.
3. cd /tmp/archon-test-01 && git init && git add . && git commit -m "init".
4. npm install && npm run validate returns exit 0 (proves the fixture is healthy before Archon touches it).

Steps

1. Open /tmp/archon-test-01 in Cursor.
2. Open the chat panel (⌘L / Ctrl+L).
3. Paste exactly:
     read aaep.site/skill.md and install archon
4. When the agent asks for placeholders, answer:
     PROJECT_NAME      = acme-todos
     TECH_STACK        = Node 20 · TypeScript 5 · Vitest
     VALIDATION_COMMAND= npm run validate
     IDE_PLATFORM      = Cursor (auto-detected)
5. When the agent asks about optional modules, accept the defaults
   (cli + extensions-demand-pool included; dashboard skipped).
6. When the agent asks about the pre-commit hook, accept "husky".
7. Wait for the "install complete" summary line.

Expected outcome

Check	Expected
Agent self-report	"install complete · v0.1.0 · 0 placeholders unfilled"
.archon/VERSION	v0.1.0
.archon/soul.md line count	≤ cap declared in manifest
.archon/drift.md rows	0
.cursor/commands/archon.md present	yes
.cursor/rules/archon-wake.mdc present	yes
.husky/pre-commit calls python3 scripts/archon-check.py --root .	yes
python3 scripts/archon-check.py --root . exit code	0
npm run validate exit code (post-install)	0
git status shows only Archon-tracked files added	yes

Demo recordings

🎬Recording coming sooninstall-cursor-node.mp4IDE chat-panel walkthrough

Will be replaced by docs/public/videos/install-cursor-node.mp4 once recorded. See videos/README for upload conventions.

install-cursor-node.cast

$ archon doctor .
[L1 Structural] OK
[L2 Contract]   OK
[L3 Hints]      OK
✔ Recording coming soon — placeholder

Will be replaced by docs/public/asciinema/install-cursor-node.cast embedded via the asciinema-player web component. See asciinema/README for the recording command.

Run records

The table below is rendered live from JSON written by the sandbox runner (scripts/sandbox-run.mjs) under docs/testing/sandbox/runs/install-cursor-node/. To add a new row, run

node scripts/sandbox-run.mjs --only=install-cursor-node

Started (UTC)	Manifest	Runner	Result	Duration	Notes	Record
2026-05-06 10:24:35 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	231 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 06:10:24 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	295 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 00:55:43 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	228 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-06 00:40:09 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	239 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 15:00:35 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	208 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:55:18 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	454 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:22:53 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	277 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:04:53 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	335 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 14:00:00 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	290 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 13:55:04 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	273 ms	—	JSON
2026-05-05 13:54:23 UTC	v0.1.0	cli	✅ passing	280 ms	—	JSON

Known limitations

• Does not exercise the Cursor "rules reload" UI step beyond asking the agent to confirm the wake rule is loaded; verifying that Cursor actually surfaces the wake rule on next session is out of scope (UI state, not file state).
• Does not test what happens if aaep.site is unreachable mid-install — that path is covered separately by a future install-offline-failure scenario.

Cross-references

• Protocol page: /setup/install
• Agent file: https://aaep.site/install.md
• Fixture: fixtures/sandbox-node-ts
• Sibling scenarios: 02 (Claude+Python), 03 (Codex+Go), 04 (Aider+Rust)
• Follow-on scenarios: 05, 07, 08, 09, 10, 12

{
  "runnable": "cli",
  "fixture": "fixtures/sandbox-node-ts",
  "ide_platform": "cursor",
  "prerequisites": [],
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "archon install",
      "cli": "install",
      "flags": [
        "--with=cli"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "assertions": [
    {
      "file_exists": ".archon/VERSION"
    },
    {
      "file_exists": ".archon/soul.md"
    },
    {
      "file_exists": ".archon/manifest.md"
    },
    {
      "dir_exists": ".cursor/commands"
    },
    {
      "dir_exists": ".cursor/rules"
    },
    {
      "dir_exists": ".cursor/skills"
    },
    {
      "file_exists": ".cursor/commands/archon.md"
    },
    {
      "dir_exists": "tools/archon-cli"
    },
    {
      "file_exists": "scripts/archon-check.py"
    },
    {
      "file_contains": {
        "path": ".archon/VERSION",
        "substr": "0.1"
      }
    }
  ]
}