# Cursor rules not getting applied **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Tags:** rules\ **Created:** [April 22, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740 "2026-04-22T18:55:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![something\_something](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@something\_something](https://forum.cursor.com/u/something_something)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/1 "2026-04-22T18:55:05Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug Since a recent update, cursor rules aren’t getting applied. I have some rules with alwaysApply: true but since a recent update (a few days ago) new chats are not applying these rules. ### Steps to Reproduce ## create a rule in project .cursor/rules/some-rule.mdc with a header of: ## description: Some Description alwaysApply: true ### Expected Behavior I expect this rule to always get applied (it used to always work previously and I’ve made no change to the rules I have in the project), but now, regardless of model used in the chat, the rule is not getting applied to chats. ### Operating System MacOS ### Version Information Version: 3.1.17 (Universal) VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: fce1e9ab7844f9ea35793da01e634aa7e50bce90 Date: 2026-04-19T19:33:58.189Z 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 24.6.0 ### Does this stop you from using Cursor No - Cursor works, but with this issue ---
**Author:** ![something\_something](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@something\_something](https://forum.cursor.com/u/something_something)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/4 "2026-04-22T19:07:03Z")
When asking a model why it’s not applying the rules, here is an example response: You are correct about what **`alwaysApply: true` is for** : in your `.mdc` front matter it tells Cursor that this rule should **apply to the session regardless of file context** , not “only when the model thinks it fits.” So **your mental model is right** ; the failure was in how I used what I was given, not in what the flag means. What I was trying to describe in that earlier message was **two different layers** that got blurred: 1. **Product / config layer (yours)** `alwaysApply: true` ⇒ this rule is **always in scope** for the workspace. The agent is supposed to follow it even when the task is “unrelated” (e.g. a bugfix still gets the rule tail on the final answer). 2. **What showed up in the first-turn system prompt (mine)** Some rules appear only as **metadata** : path + short `description`, sometimes without the full body inlined in that same blob. The word **“requestable”** in the API is Cursor’s way of saying “here are workspace rules; you can load the file by path if needed.” It does **not** mean “optional if not relevant” when the rule is also `alwaysApply: true`. So the honest correction is: **I should not have equated “listed as requestable with a short blurb” with “optional until I judge relevance.”** For an `alwaysApply` rule, the right behavior is to **treat the description (or the file) as mandatory**—and if only a one-line description is visible, **read the rule** once and then follow it on every applicable reply. I don’t have a public, line-by-line spec of how Cursor merges `alwaysApply` into the model context versus the requestable list; what I can say with confidence is: **your intent for `alwaysApply` is the correct one** , and my “only if it seems relevant” heuristic was wrong for that flag. ---
**Author:** ![RayGraham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/raygraham/32/106115_2.png) [@RayGraham](https://forum.cursor.com/u/RayGraham)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/6 "2026-04-22T20:10:05Z")
[https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-true-rules-are-being-completely-ignored-now/158551](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-true-rules-are-being-completely-ignored-now/158551) They said 3.2 will have the fix. ---
**Author:** ![user1590](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/user1590/32/112492_2.png) [@user1590](https://forum.cursor.com/u/user1590)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/10 "2026-04-24T03:19:13Z")
I have been using cursor for about 4 months now and no matter what I tell it or how i tell it, it never uses the rules unless i tell it to with every prompt. ---
**Author:** ![kevinn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/kevinn/32/101206_2.png) [@kevinn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/kevinn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 8:48pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/11 "2026-05-06T20:48:54Z")
Can you give us more context on the rule and perhaps share what it looks like? ---
**Author:** ![something\_something](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@something\_something](https://forum.cursor.com/u/something_something)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/12 "2026-05-06T21:58:13Z")
This issue was resloved for me: > [@\`alwaysApply: true\` rules are being completely ignored now](https://forum.cursor.com/t/alwaysapply-true-rules-are-being-completely-ignored-now/158551/21): > > I now have 3.2 installed and can confirm that the issue is resolved for me. Version: 3.2.10 VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: 87903b25fe9074e35b9ba372ed5bf14de5835960 Date: 2026-04-24T00:45:10.396Z 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 I simply started a new chat and ask the agent “what rules are in your context?” and it spit everything out in a summarized f… ---
**Author:** ![kevinn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/kevinn/32/101206_2.png) [@kevinn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/kevinn)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 12:08am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/13 "2026-05-07T00:08:28Z")
> [@something\_something](#): > > This issue was resloved for me: Awesome, thanks for confirming. ---
**Author:** ![user1590](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/user1590/32/112492_2.png) [@user1590](https://forum.cursor.com/u/user1590)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/14 "2026-05-07T12:17:41Z")
using Version: 3.3.16 (user setup) VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: 7f0f522221d0ba220e4edb766bb3c47c08c14ab0 Date: 2026-05-06T20:40:56.501Z 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: Windows\_NT x64 10.0.26200 Cursor rules are never evaluated before replying to a prompt unless explicitly told to do so. It gets tedeous and cumbersome to do that and enumerable mistakes are made and propogated for weeks of debugging because of it. ---
**Author:** ![kevinn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/kevinn/32/101206_2.png) [@kevinn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/kevinn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/15 "2026-06-02T18:12:50Z")
Hi @user1590 Just circling back is this still impacting you regardless of model choice? You’re fully on an up-to-date Cursor? If this is still an issue would you mind disabling privacy mode and sharing a request ID and I can take a closer look? To disable Privacy Mode: 1. Open Cursor Settings with `Cmd+Shift+J` on macOS or `Ctrl+Shift+J` on Windows/Linux. 2. Go to `General`. 3. Turn `Privacy Mode` off / switch to `Share Data`. To get the Request ID: 1. Open the relevant conversation in the Chat sidebar. 2. Click the `...` menu. 3. Select `Copy Request ID`. ---
**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:** [July 18, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-rules-not-getting-applied/158740/17 "2026-07-18T00:42:15Z")
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