How Cursor Directory Was Built in 3 Hours for $35K/Month

TL;DR

Cursor Directory was built in three hours by Pontus Abrahamsson and Victor and now makes about $35,000 per month. They launched a Next.js MVP with a hard-coded JSON file, reached 49,000 registered users and 2.2 million unique visitors, and operate at a 99.8% gross margin with under $500 in costs. Read on to see how they found the idea, shipped quickly, and attracted users.

Transcript

Cursive directory. We built it in a weekend and now it makes 35k per month. This is Pontis, a developer bored on his flight to France when he spotted an opportunity. The second he landed, he called his friend. They coded for 3 hours straight and launched a simple directory. When I landed, I called Victor and said, "We need to build this directory f... Read More

Key Insights

• Cursor Directory was built in three hours after Pontus spotted the idea on a flight to France, called his co-founder Victor upon landing, and they coded a Next.js site with a hard-coded JSON file of rules deployed on Vercel.
• The directory now generates $35,000 per month (also stated as $34,000) with a 99.8% gross margin and operating costs just under $500, requiring only about 3 hours of maintenance per month.
• Cursor Directory solved a real gap: before it existed, developers could only find Cursor rules scattered across obscure GitHub gists and forums, with no single clear place to discover them.
• The site grew to 49,000 registered users and 2.2 million unique visitors since launch, and it is fully open source with all rules merged through GitHub.
• Building in public was the launch engine: Pontus posted on X with over 1 million impressions on one post, reached the Hacker News front page, and got covered by many YouTubers.
• Design is a competitive advantage in an AI-generated web world where most sites look the same, and finding the right tonality and angle is what separates a product from competitors.
• Speed came from experience: Pontus and Victor had bootstrapped their main startup Midday for two years, already sharing a design system and reusable components that let them move fast.
• Directories are not dead in 2025 and remain incredibly successful when built for the right audience at the right time, especially when they solve a timeless problem like finding something you need.

Questions & Answers

Q: How was Cursor Directory built in only three hours?

After landing in France, Pontus called Victor and proposed creating one place for Cursor rules. Victor designed in Figma while Pontus started a Next.js project with a hard-coded JSON file; within about half an hour, they had a version running on Vercel, and they completed the initial site in three hours.

Q: How much money does Cursor Directory make per month?

Cursor Directory makes about $35,000 per month, with another point in the transcript stating $34,000. It has a 99.8% gross margin, operating costs under $500, and requires about three hours of maintenance per month.

Q: What does Cursor Directory do?

Cursor Directory helps Cursor developers discover rules and new ideas in one place. Before it launched, those rules were scattered across obscure GitHub gists and forums without a clear central source.

Q: How did Pontus get the idea for Cursor Directory?

Pontus noticed the opportunity during a three-hour flight to France while watching downloaded videos about Cursor. He saw a recurring focus on rules but could not find a single place that collected them, so he called Victor after landing.

Q: What technology was used to build Cursor Directory?

Pontus created the initial project with Next.js and stored rules he found online in a hard-coded JSON file. Victor worked on the design in Figma, and they deployed a clickable version to Vercel within about half an hour.

Q: How large has Cursor Directory grown?

Cursor Directory has grown to 49,000 registered users and 2.2 million unique visitors since launch. The project is also open source, with its rules merged through GitHub.

Q: How did Cursor Directory attract attention after launch?

Pontus and Victor posted the site on X, where it immediately took off. Existing page details also report that one post received more than 1 million impressions, the project reached the Hacker News front page, and YouTubers covered it.

Q: What helped Pontus and Victor ship the project so quickly?

Both founders already had years of experience building apps and websites and had worked together for several years. Their shared understanding of design and code let them divide the work immediately, launch an imperfect first version, and continue iterating afterward.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Pontus Abrahamsson conceived Cursor Directory during a three-hour flight to France while watching downloaded videos about Cursor, noticing that Cursor rules were scattered with no central place to find them. He called his co-founder Victor the moment he landed and they started building immediately.

• The pair built the MVP in three hours: Victor designed in Figma while Pontus spun up a Next.js project with a hard-coded JSON file of rules found online, deploying to Vercel within half an hour. They bought the cursor.directory domain and kept iterating from there.

• The site went viral through building in public on X, hitting over 1 million impressions on one post, reaching the Hacker News front page, and earning YouTuber coverage. It now makes $35K a month at 99.8% margins while the founders focus on their main startup, Midday.