Cursor modifies valid Markdown tables on .plan.md save, breaking table rendering

[toddlevy]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Cursor automatically modifies valid Markdown tables on file save by inserting blank lines between table rows, which breaks Markdown table rendering. This occurs without any user interaction (no typing, formatting commands, or AI actions).

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a .plan.md file containing a valid GitHub-flavored Markdown table:

| Product | Description | Current Location |
|---------|-------------|------------------|
| REST API | Developer access, JSON, Schema.org | Data page, Pricing, Home CTA |
| Data Feeds | SFTP, S3, BigQuery delivery | Data page, Pricing FAQ |

2. Open the file in Cursor.

3. Do not edit the file.

4. Hit Save.

5. Cursor rewrites the file contents to insert blank lines between each table row:

| Product | Description | Current Location |

|---------|-------------|------------------|

| REST API | Developer access, JSON, Schema.org | Data page, Pricing, Home CTA |

| Data Feeds | SFTP, S3, BigQuery delivery | Data page, Pricing FAQ |

6. This breaks Markdown table parsing and rendering.

Expected Behavior

Saving a file should not modify valid Markdown syntax unless explicitly changed by the user.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 2.4.21 (system setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: dc8361355d709f306d5159635a677a571b277bc0
Date: 2026-01-22T16:57:59.675Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.2.7
Chromium: 142.0.7444.235
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known issue. Another user reported the same thing recently: Plan files automatically insert blank lines between markdown table rows

Quick question. Is your .plan.md file in the global folder ~/.cursor/plans/ or inside your workspace? The previous report was about files in ~/.cursor/plans/. There’s a file watcher there that seems to be inserting blank lines.

If it’s happening in the global folder, the current workaround is to keep plans in .cursor/plans/ inside the project. That auto-formatting doesn’t trigger there.

I’ll pass an update to the team that it’s still happening on the latest version.