Ship Type-Safe, Zero-JS Astro Sites 3x Faster

Stop wrestling with hydration bugs, performance bottlenecks, and runtime type errors. These production-tested Cursor Rules transform your Astro development workflow into a predictive, error-free pipeline that ships fast sites by default.

The Static-First Development Problem

You're building modern web apps with Astro, but your workflow is fragmented:

Context switching hell: Jumping between TypeScript errors, Tailwind classes, and performance audits
Runtime surprises: Props that should be typed slip through, breaking in production
Performance guesswork: Over-hydrating components because you're unsure what needs JavaScript
Inconsistent patterns: Every component handles props, styling, and validation differently
Deploy anxiety: Will the build pass? Are the types actually safe? Is the bundle optimized?

You need development rules that enforce Astro's architecture—zero-JS by default, type-safe everywhere, performance-first—without slowing you down.

Your Type-Safe, Performance-First Development System

These Cursor Rules create a cohesive development experience that aligns perfectly with Astro's zero-JS philosophy. Instead of fighting the framework, you'll work within patterns that automatically optimize for performance and type safety.

What you get:

Predictive component architecture that enforces proper Props interfaces and validation
Zero-JS by default workflows with smart hydration only where needed
Performance-optimized patterns for images, CSS, and bundle splitting
Type-safe everything from frontmatter to environment variables
Production-ready builds that pass TypeScript, ESLint, and performance audits

Key Developer Workflow Improvements

⚡ Component Development Acceleration

Generate proper TypeScript interfaces automatically for every component
Enforce consistent prop validation and error handling patterns
Smart defaults for hydration directives based on component type

🎯 Performance by Default

Automatic image optimization with modern formats (AVIF, WebP)
Built-in bundle splitting and critical CSS inlining
Zero client JavaScript unless explicitly required

🛡️ Runtime Error Prevention

Zod validation for external data sources and environment variables
Fail-fast error handling that catches issues at build time
Type-safe routing and content collection patterns

🚀 Production-Ready Architecture

CSP headers, accessibility compliance, and SEO optimization built-in
Testing patterns with Vitest and Playwright integration
Deploy-ready configurations for Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare

Real Developer Workflows

Building a Blog Post Component

Before: Writing props handling manually, forgetting TypeScript interfaces, debugging hydration issues.

With these rules: Cursor automatically generates the complete pattern:

// Generates this complete, type-safe component structure
---
interface Props {
  title: string;
  publishedAt: Date;
  excerpt?: string;
  readonly featured?: boolean;
}

const { title, publishedAt, excerpt, featured = false } = Astro.props as Props;

if (!title) throw new Error('Title is required');
---

<article class="prose max-w-4xl mx-auto">
  <header class="mb-8">
    <h1 class="text-4xl font-bold text-gray-900">{title}</h1>
    <time class="text-gray-600 text-sm">
      {publishedAt.toLocaleDateString()}
    </time>
  </header>
  {excerpt && <p class="lead text-xl text-gray-700">{excerpt}</p>}
  <slot />
</article>

Optimizing Images Automatically

Before: Manual image optimization, forgetting responsive formats, performance issues.

With these rules: Every image follows the performance-first pattern:

<!-- Automatically suggests this optimized pattern -->
<Image 
  src={heroImage} 
  width={1200} 
  height={600}
  loading="eager"
  format={["avif", "webp", "png"]}
  alt={imageAlt}
  class="w-full h-96 object-cover rounded-lg"
/>

Content Collections with Type Safety

Before: Runtime errors from CMS data, manual validation, inconsistent patterns.

With these rules: Type-safe content from source to render:

// Auto-generates collection schema
const blogCollection = defineCollection({
  type: 'content',
  schema: z.object({
    title: z.string(),
    publishedAt: z.date(),
    tags: z.array(z.string()).default([]),
    featured: z.boolean().default(false)
  })
});

// Type-safe usage throughout components
const { title, publishedAt, tags } = entry.data; // Fully typed

Implementation Guide

1. Add Rules to Cursor

Copy the complete ruleset into your Cursor Rules settings. The configuration automatically handles:

TypeScript strict mode enforcement
Astro-specific component patterns
Tailwind optimization guidelines
Performance and accessibility standards

2. Project Structure Setup

The rules enforce this optimized directory structure:

src/
├── pages/          # Route-generating pages
├── layouts/        # Shared templates  
├── components/     # Reusable UI (kebab-case)
├── styles/         # Global CSS
└── types/          # Shared TypeScript definitions

3. Development Workflow

With rules active, your development flow becomes:

Create component → Cursor generates Props interface and validation
Add styling → Tailwind utilities follow semantic grouping
Handle data → Zod validation patterns appear automatically
Build/deploy → TypeScript and performance checks pass consistently

4. Team Integration

Add these npm scripts for team consistency:

{
  "scripts": {
    "check": "tsc --noEmit && astro check",
    "lint": "eslint . --ext .ts,.tsx,.astro", 
    "format": "prettier --write .",
    "test": "vitest"
  }
}

Expected Results & Impact

Development Speed

60% faster component creation with auto-generated TypeScript patterns
Eliminate debugging time for hydration and prop-passing issues
Zero context switching between type checking, linting, and performance audits

Code Quality

100% type coverage across components, content, and configuration
Performance budgets met automatically through built-in optimization patterns
Accessibility compliance by default with semantic HTML enforcement

Production Confidence

Zero runtime type errors through compile-time validation
Lighthouse scores 95+ through performance-first patterns
Consistent deployment success with integrated build checks

Team Productivity

Onboarding acceleration with consistent, documented patterns
Code review efficiency through standardized component architecture
Knowledge sharing through embedded best practices in every generated pattern

These rules don't just improve your Astro development—they transform it into a predictable, high-performance workflow that scales with your team and delivers fast, accessible websites every time.

Ready to experience development without the constant switching between documentation, debugging, and optimization? Add these rules to Cursor and watch your Astro workflow accelerate.

Astro-TypeSafe UI Ruleset