Codebase Index Does Not Include Files Within Symlinked Directory

Support Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I would like to suggest reopening the issue pointed out by Christina Norman. The issue still persists, as the index does not include symbolic link files and folders. This seems to affect how the AI works, resulting in slower performance and poorer results.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create a project directory (e.g., C:\Project).
  2. Create a separate directory outside the project containing source/documentation files (e.g., Markdown files in G:\SharedDocs\DocsFolder). Ensure these files are physically present locally if using a cloud sync tool like Google Drive.
  3. Within the project directory, create a symbolic link pointing to the external directory:
# Example using PowerShell on Windows
cd C:\Project
New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path ".\linked_docs" -Target "G:\SharedDocs\DocsFolder"
  1. Open C:\Project in Cursor.
  2. Ensure the search.followSymlinks setting is true in Cursor’s settings.
  3. Allow Cursor to build/rebuild its codebase index.
  4. Attempt to use features reliant on the codebase index (e.g., @ symbol search for files/symbols within linked_docs, Go to Definition if applicable to file types) for files inside the .\linked_docs directory.
  5. Perform a standard file search (e.g., Ctrl+P or Ctrl+Shift+F) for content or filenames known to be within .\linked_docs.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.2.44 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 20adc1003928b0f1b99305dbaf845656ff815d0
Date: 2025-12-24T21:41:47.598Z (4 days ago)
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows NT x64 10.0.22631 (with WSL)

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

2

Hey, thanks for the report.

The issue is that codebase indexing intentionally doesn’t index files outside the workspace root, even through symlinks. Regular file search follows symlinks, but AI indexing doesn’t.

Temporary workaround: use regular file search to access files through symlinks, or move the needed files directly into the project.

I’ll pass this on to the team and ask them to revisit this behavior based on all the reports.