WebSockets & Realtime State Synchronizer

What it does

/realtime-feature is a Cursor slash command. Type it in chat to run a saved workflow: WebSockets & Realtime State Synchronizer.

Implements real-time features: WebSocket servers, Server-Sent Events, live user presence indicators, and multi-user state synchronization.

WebSocket handlers, live presence, collaborative state, and SSE feeds. Unlike a skill, a command is something you invoke on purpose. The agent does not decide to run /realtime-feature for you.

Why it exists

Founders retype the same multi-step prompt until it rots. /realtime-feature exists so the pipeline, all 4 steps of it, is a file in .cursor/commands, versioned with the repo.

It ships in the Engineering Kit. It is wired to the Realtime Systems Lead (realtime-engineer) and Senior Backend Architect (backend-architect) agents. Required skills: WebSockets & Realtime State Synchronization; SaaS Architecture Patterns & Multi-Tenancy.

When to use it

• Use when building live chat, collaborative editing, or real-time notifications.
• Use /realtime-feature when you want that pipeline, not a freeform chat. If you only need one step, use a narrower command or a single agent.
• Start a new chat. Do not run this command in a thread that just wrote marketing copy.

When not to use it

• Do not run /realtime-feature as a substitute for reading the diff. The command produces files; you still gate them.
• Do not chain it into a 40-turn chat. Fresh context is part of the design.
• Do not run it if you have not filled CURSOR.md. The pipeline will invent a stack.

Example workflow

1. Set up WebSocket / SSE route handler with heartbeat ping/pong
2. Implement channel subscription and client authentication
3. Distribute broadcast messages across nodes via Redis Pub/Sub
4. Connect frontend client with automatic exponential reconnect logic

Example usage

Type this in Cursor chat: /realtime-feature Add WebSocket live presence system for active project collaborators

The command file tells the session which agents to adopt and which skills to read. You should see phase headers, not a single dump of code.

If a phase fails its gate, stop. Do not add 'just continue'.

Example output

• Expected artifact: src/lib/realtime.ts
• Expected artifact: src/hooks/useRealtime.ts
• Expected artifact: src/components/...

Best practices

• Keep the prompt specific. /realtime-feature Add WebSocket live presence system for active project collaborators is the shape: object, constraint, and outcome.
• Let the listed agents work in order: realtime-engineer → backend-architect.
• Save outputs in the repo. Chat-only answers evaporate.
• Engineering commands should leave tests or an audit note, not only implementation files.

Common mistakes

• Typing /realtime-feature with no object ('do the thing'). The pipeline will guess.
• Re-running the command in the same chat after a failed gate instead of fixing the failing file.
• Editing the command file to skip review so it 'goes faster'.
• Skipping the WebSockets & Realtime State Synchronization skill that the command depends on.