🤖 Ultimate AI-Assisted Development Guidelines - Supercharge your productivity with Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code & AI! #AIAssistedDevelopment #Productivity

ai-development-guidelines.md

🚀 AI-Powered Task Management for Developers

Transform your coding workflow with structured task management that works with ANY AI coding assistant (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code + GitHub Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, etc.)

🎯 What This Does

This system creates a living documentation approach that helps AI assistants understand your project better, leading to:

• ✅ Better AI suggestions - AI knows what you're building
• ✅ Consistent progress tracking - Never lose track of where you are
• ✅ Faster development - AI can pick up where you left off
• ✅ Better code quality - Structured approach prevents rushed implementations

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🏃‍♂️ Quick Start (30 seconds)

1. Create a task file in your project root: TASKS.md (or FEATURE_NAME.md)
2. Copy the template below
3. Tell your AI assistant: "Check TASKS.md and implement the next task"
4. Watch the magic happen ✨

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📋 Universal Task Template

Copy this template and customize for your project:

# [Your Feature Name] Implementation

Brief description of what you're building and why.

## 🎯 Current Focus
- [ ] The ONE task you're working on right now

## ✅ Completed Tasks
- [x] Example: Set up project structure
- [x] Example: Configure environment

## 📋 In Progress Tasks
- [ ] Task currently being worked on
- [ ] Another task in progress

## 🔮 Future Tasks
- [ ] Planned feature enhancement
- [ ] Nice-to-have improvements

## 🏗️ Implementation Plan

### Architecture Overview
Brief description of how everything fits together.

### Key Components
- **Component 1**: What it does
- **Component 2**: What it does

### 📁 Relevant Files
- `src/main.ts` - Main application entry point ✅
- `src/components/` - React components (in progress)
- `src/api/` - API layer (planned)

### 🔧 Tech Stack
- Frontend: React/Vue/Angular
- Backend: Node.js/Python/etc
- Database: PostgreSQL/MongoDB/etc

## 💡 Notes & Decisions
- Why we chose X over Y
- Important architectural decisions
- Lessons learned

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🎪 Pro Tips for AI Collaboration

🗣️ Magic Phrases to Use with AI:

Starting a session:

• "Check TASKS.md and tell me what to work on next"
• "Look at our task list and implement the next priority item"

During development:

• "Update TASKS.md with our progress"
• "Add the files we just created to the Relevant Files section"

When stuck:

• "Based on TASKS.md, what's the logical next step?"
• "Review our implementation plan and suggest improvements"

🎯 Best Practices

1. Keep it current - Update after each coding session
2. Be specific - "Add user authentication" → "Implement JWT-based login API endpoint"
3. One focus task - Use "Current Focus" for what you're actively working on
4. Link everything - Connect tasks to actual files and code

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🔧 IDE-Specific Setup

For Cursor

1. Save as .cursor/rules/task-management.md
2. Add to top of file:

---
description: Task management system for AI-assisted development
globs: ["**/*.md"]
alwaysApply: false
---

For Windsurf

1. Save in project root as TASKS.md
2. Use @tasks to reference in conversations

For VS Code + GitHub Copilot

1. Save as TASKS.md in project root
2. Open alongside your code files
3. Reference in Copilot Chat: "Check TASKS.md and help with next item"

For Claude/ChatGPT

1. Copy-paste your TASKS.md content at start of conversations
2. Say: "This is my current project status. Help me with the next task."

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📈 Why This Works

For Developers:

• Never lose context when switching between tasks
• Faster onboarding for new team members
• Better planning leads to better code

For AI Assistants:

• Rich context about your project goals
• Clear next steps to focus on
• File relationships to understand codebase structure

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🎁 Bonus: Team Collaboration

For Code Reviews:

• Reviewers can see what you're building and why
• Context about incomplete features
• Clear next steps for follow-up PRs

For Project Management:

• Visual progress tracking
• Scope clarity for stakeholders
• Time estimation becomes easier

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🚀 Advanced Patterns

Multiple Feature Files

For complex projects, create separate task files:

• AUTH_TASKS.md - Authentication system
• API_TASKS.md - Backend API development
• UI_TASKS.md - User interface components

Integration with Issues

Link to GitHub/GitLab issues:

- [ ] Implement user dashboard (Issue #123)
- [ ] Fix mobile responsive layout (Issue #124)

Time Tracking

Add time estimates:

- [ ] Set up database migrations (2h)
- [ ] Create user API endpoints (4h)
- [ ] Write integration tests (3h)

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💬 Community & Support

⭐ Star this gist if it helps your development workflow!

💬 Share your experience - How has this improved your AI-assisted coding?

🐛 Found an issue? Let me know in the comments!

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📚 What's Next?

1. Try it on your current project
2. Customize the template for your needs
3. Share with your team
4. Iterate and improve your process

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Happy coding! 🎉

Created by developers, for developers. Works with any AI coding assistant.