# \`alwaysApply\` silently ignored in Rules from Team Plugins **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Tags:** plugins, rules\ **Created:** [April 13, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-silently-ignored-in-rules-from-team-plugins/157484 "2026-04-13T02:29:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pchalacis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/pchalacis/32/105117_2.png) [@pchalacis](https://forum.cursor.com/u/pchalacis)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 2:29am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-silently-ignored-in-rules-from-team-plugins/157484/1 "2026-04-13T02:29:13Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug When a Team marketplace Plugin contains a rule with `alwaysApply: true`, that rule is applied intelligently, without a way to make it required. When asked agent why it’s not applied, this is the response: this is a Cursor platform limitation with plugin-sourced rules. The system that injects rules into my context categorized it as agent\_requestable\_workspace\_rules despite the alwaysApply: true frontmatter. I don’t control that categorization — it’s done before I see anything. The alwaysApply flag is respected for rules in your project’s .cursor/rules/ directory, but plugin-cached rules (under .cursor/plugins/cache/) appear to get downgraded to agent-requestable regardless of their frontmatter. Additionally, when trying to change the Rule behavior through settings panel, it breaks the rule .mdc file by adding multiple blocks of: `— ` `description: …` `alwaysApply: true` `—` ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Create a Plugin 2. Create rule in that plugin, set `alwaysApply: true` 3. In Cursor settings → Rules, Skills, Subagents, that rule will show “Agent decides when to apply”. 4. Using setting interface, change it to Always applied, save 4. Rule still stays as “Agent decides when to apply”. ### Expected Behavior Rules with `alwaysApply` set to true should always be applied. ### Screenshots / Screen Recordings ![Screenshot 2026-04-13 at 2.20.37 PM.png](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/9/5/95138ad7d9ff1283756fbb7d6f92684e7922dcb8.png) ### Operating System MacOS ### Version Information Version: 3.0.16 VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: 475871d112608994deb2e3065dfb7c6b0baa0c50 Date: 2026-04-09T05:33:51.767Z Layout: editor Build Type: Stable Release Track: Default Electron: 39.8.1 Chromium: 142.0.7444.265 Node.js: 22.22.1 V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0 OS: Darwin arm64 25.4.0 ### For AI issues: which model did you use? Opus 4.6, Composer 2 ### Does this stop you from using Cursor No - Cursor works, but with this issue ---
**Author:** ![mohitjain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/mohitjain/32/100229_2.png) [@mohitjain](https://forum.cursor.com/u/mohitjain)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 9:39am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-silently-ignored-in-rules-from-team-plugins/157484/6 "2026-04-13T09:39:16Z")
Hi @pchalacis, Thanks for the detailed report and screenshots. This is a confirmed bug – plugin rules with `alwaysApply: true` are being silently downgraded to “Agent decides when to apply.” The issue where the settings UI adds duplicate frontmatter blocks when you try to change the rule type has also been confirmed as a related bug. There’s a [related thread](https://forum.cursor.com/t/plugin-rules-with-alwaysapply-true-are-silently-downgraded-to-applied-intelligently/154223) reporting the same behavior. I’ve flagged both for our team. As a temporary measure, you could duplicate the critical rules into your project’s `.cursor/rules/` directory, where `alwaysApply: true` works correctly. Not ideal for team plugin workflows, but it will ensure the rules are always applied. ---
**Author:** ![Colin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/colin/32/90452_2.png) [@Colin](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Colin)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-silently-ignored-in-rules-from-team-plugins/157484/16 "2026-05-22T12:15:42Z")
@pchalacis This should be fixed for good when 3.6 rolls around! Thanks for the report. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/system/32/99069_2.png) [@system](https://forum.cursor.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-silently-ignored-in-rules-from-team-plugins/157484/17 "2026-06-13T12:16:15Z")
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