I have rules that apply only to certain globs, but the little context thing is saying that rules that do not apply to the current file or area that I’m in are being applied right now?
globs: **/*.cs
alwaysApply: false
Seems to apply when I have no file open or I’m just looking at my README.
It looks like I’m using 25,000 tokens by default. Which is insane, this would mean every single rule file I have is applying (All 35 of my rule files add up to ~24k tokens), regardless of its actual applicability to the files being edited. However, cursor does not provide ways to introspect or debug this.
We need a way to introspect this and see what is actually being put into context. Because, honestly, the amount of context being consumed for me by default seems very wrong.
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Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.
Does this stop you from using Cursor?
Yes - Cursor is unusable
Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
No - Cursor works, but with this issue
The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!
Hey, thanks for the report. This does look like a bug - rules with globs + alwaysApply: false should only activate when the active file matches the pattern, not when you’re viewing a README or have no file open.
A couple of questions to help narrow this down:
What’s your Cursor version? Menu > About Cursor > Copy
What OS are you on?
Could you share the full frontmatter of one of the affected .mdc files? I mostly want to confirm it looks exactly like:
---
globs: **/*.cs
alwaysApply: false
---
The request for better introspection of active rules is fair - there’s been similar feedback from other users. Right now the tooltip in the context indicator is the only way to see active rules, and it doesn’t show the full list when you have many.
---
description: Backend architecture overview and conventions — orients the agent and routes to detailed rules for entities and services
globs: apps/backend/**/*.cs
alwaysApply: false
---
---
description: Backend development guidelines for the apps/backend .NET project
globs: apps/backend/**/*
alwaysApply: false
---
---
description: Core principles for implementation decisions and refactoring
globs: **/*.ts**/*.cs
---
---
description: This file provides guidelines for writing clean, maintainable, and idiomatic C# code with a focus on functional patterns and proper abstraction.
globs: **/*.cs
alwaysApply: false
---
There’s a known bug on Windows where rules with alwaysApply: false can be misclassified and applied as always-on. The team is aware and already looking into it. Your report helps us prioritize it.
One of the rules in the frontmatter looks suspicious:
globs: **/*.ts**/*.cs
Is there a missing comma here? Should it be **/*.ts,**/*.cs? Or is it a typo in the post?
Question: are you opening the project via a normal local path like C:\Users\..., or via a network UNC path like \\server\share\...? This matters because on Windows there’s a separate rule classification issue with UNC paths.
As a workaround for now, you can try moving the conditional logic into the rule text itself. Set alwaysApply: true, but in the rule text say something like: “Apply these guidelines only when working with *.cs files in apps/backend/.” Not ideal because it uses extra tokens, but it’s more predictable.
On introspection, that’s a fair request, and you’re not the first to bring it up. Right now the tooltip in the context indicator is the only option, and it’s pretty limited once you have lots of rules.
Let me know about the UNC path part and that glob pattern.
