How to use DESIGN.md in Cursor, Claude Code, and every AI coding tool

Step-by-step guide to using DESIGN.md files with Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, v0, Bolt, Replit Agent, and Kiro.

A step-by-step guide to using DESIGN.md files with the various AI coding tools.

Tools covered: Cursor, Claude Code, Lovable, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, v0, Bolt, Replit Agent, and Kiro.

The core idea: instead of re-explaining colours and fonts in every message, you drop a DESIGN.md file into the project and reference it once.

Each tool differs: some read the file automatically when the name and location are right, others need an explicit reference in the prompt.

For each tool the guide covers where the file should live, the format it understands, and a ready-to-use prompt example.