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AGENTS.md

AI Development Guide for Motia Projects

This file provides context and instructions for AI coding assistants working on Motia projects.

Project Overview

This is a Motia application - a framework for building event-driven, type-safe backend systems with:

  • HTTP API endpoints (API Steps)
  • Background event processing (Event Steps)
  • Scheduled tasks (Cron Steps)
  • Real-time streaming capabilities
  • Built-in state management
  • Visual workflow designer (Workbench)

Quick Start Commands

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server (with hot reload)
npm run dev

# Start production server (without hot reload)
npm run start

# Generate TypeScript types from steps
npx motia generate-types

📚 Comprehensive Guides

This project includes detailed Cursor rules in .cursor/rules/ that contain comprehensive patterns and examples.

These guides are written in markdown and can be read by any AI coding tool. The sections below provide quick reference, but always consult the detailed guides in .cursor/ for complete patterns and examples.

Available Guides

Read these files in .cursor/rules/motia/ for detailed patterns:

  • motia-config.mdc - Essential project setup, package.json requirements, plugin naming
  • api-steps.mdc - Creating HTTP endpoints with schemas, validation, and middleware
  • event-steps.mdc - Background task processing and event-driven workflows
  • cron-steps.mdc - Scheduled tasks with cron expressions
  • state-management.mdc - State/cache management across steps
  • middlewares.mdc - Request/response middleware patterns
  • realtime-streaming.mdc - WebSocket and SSE patterns
  • virtual-steps.mdc - Visual flow connections in Workbench
  • ui-steps.mdc - Custom visual components for Workbench

Architecture guides in .cursor/architecture/:

  • architecture.mdc - Project structure, naming conventions, DDD patterns
  • error-handling.mdc - Error handling best practices

Read these guides before writing code. They contain complete examples, type definitions, and best practices.

Quick Reference

⚠️ Important: The sections below are brief summaries. Always read the full guides in .cursor/rules/ for complete patterns, examples, and type definitions.

Project Structure

Motia discovers steps from both /src and /steps folders. Modern projects typically use /src:

Recommended Structure (using /src):

project/
├── .cursor/rules/   # DETAILED GUIDES - Read these first!
├── src/
│   ├── api/        # API endpoints
│   │   ├── users.step.ts
│   │   ├── orders.step.js
│   │   └── products_step.py
│   ├── events/     # Event handlers
│   │   ├── order-processing.step.ts
│   │   └── notifications_step.py
│   ├── cron/       # Scheduled tasks
│   │   └── cleanup.step.ts
│   ├── services/   # Business logic
│   ├── repositories/ # Data access
│   └── utils/      # Utilities
├── middlewares/    # Reusable middleware
│   └── auth.middleware.ts
├── motia.config.ts # Motia configuration
└── types.d.ts      # Auto-generated types

Alternative Structure (using /steps):

project/
├── steps/          # Step definitions
│   ├── api/
│   ├── events/
│   └── cron/
├── src/
│   ├── services/
│   └── utils/
└── motia.config.ts

Step Naming Conventions

TypeScript/JavaScript: my-step.step.ts (kebab-case)
Python: my_step_step.py (snake_case)

See .cursor/architecture/architecture.mdc for complete naming rules.

Creating Steps - Quick Start

Every step needs two exports:

  1. config - Defines type, routing, schemas, emits
  2. handler - Async function with processing logic

For complete examples and type definitions, read:

  • .cursor/rules/motia/api-steps.mdc - HTTP endpoints
  • .cursor/rules/motia/event-steps.mdc - Background tasks
  • .cursor/rules/motia/cron-steps.mdc - Scheduled tasks

Detailed Guides by Topic

📖 Read the cursor rules for complete information

Step Types

  • API Steps → Read .cursor/rules/motia/api-steps.mdc

    • HTTP endpoints, schemas, middleware, emits
    • Complete TypeScript and Python examples
    • When to use emits vs direct processing

  • Event Steps → Read .cursor/rules/motia/event-steps.mdc

    • Background processing, topic subscriptions
    • Retry mechanisms, error handling
    • Chaining events for complex workflows

  • Cron Steps → Read .cursor/rules/motia/cron-steps.mdc

    • Scheduled tasks with cron expressions
    • Idempotent execution patterns
    • Integration with event emits

Architecture

  • Project Structure → Read .cursor/architecture/architecture.mdc

    • File organization, naming conventions
    • Domain-Driven Design patterns (services, repositories)
    • Code style guidelines for TypeScript, JavaScript, Python

  • Error Handling → Read .cursor/architecture/error-handling.mdc

    • ZodError middleware patterns
    • Logging best practices
    • HTTP status codes

Advanced Features

  • State Management → Read .cursor/rules/motia/state-management.mdc

    • Caching strategies, TTL configuration
    • When to use state vs database
    • Complete API reference

  • Middlewares → Read .cursor/rules/motia/middlewares.mdc

    • Authentication, validation, error handling
    • Creating reusable middleware
    • Middleware composition

  • Real-time Streaming → Read .cursor/rules/motia/realtime-streaming.mdc

    • Server-Sent Events (SSE) patterns
    • WebSocket support
    • Client-side integration

  • Virtual Steps → Read .cursor/rules/motia/virtual-steps.mdc

    • Visual flow connections in Workbench
    • Documenting API chains
    • Flow organization

  • UI Steps → Read .cursor/rules/motia/ui-steps.mdc

    • Custom Workbench visualizations
    • Available components (EventNode, ApiNode, etc.)
    • Styling with Tailwind

Workflow for AI Coding Assistants

When working on Motia projects, follow this pattern:

  1. Read the relevant guide in .cursor/rules/ for the task

    • Creating API? Read api-steps.mdc
    • Background task? Read event-steps.mdc
    • Scheduled job? Read cron-steps.mdc

  2. Check the architecture guide in .cursor/architecture/architecture.mdc

    • Understand project structure
    • Follow naming conventions
    • Apply DDD patterns

  3. Implement following the patterns from the guides

    • Use the examples as templates
    • Follow type definitions exactly
    • Apply best practices

  4. Generate types after changes

    npx motia generate-types

  5. Test in Workbench to verify connections

    npx motia dev

Critical Rules

  • ALWAYS ensure package.json has "type": "module" (read motia-config.mdc for details)
  • ALWAYS read .cursor/rules/ guides before writing step code
  • ALWAYS run npx motia generate-types after modifying configs
  • ALWAYS list emits in config before using them in handlers
  • ALWAYS follow naming conventions (*.step.ts or *_step.py)
  • NEVER use API steps for background work (use Event steps)
  • NEVER skip middleware for ZodError handling in multi-step projects
  • NEVER implement rate limiting/CORS in code (infrastructure handles this)

Resources

Remember: This AGENTS.md is a quick reference. The .cursor/rules/ directory contains the comprehensive, authoritative guides with complete examples and type definitions. Always consult those guides when implementing Motia patterns.