Custom mode use command instead of using the read_file tool as expected

[Islam_Attrash]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When creating a custom mode called “Planner” and give it all tools it still don’t behave like agent regarding reading files and uses commands instead of using the read_file tool

Steps to Reproduce

Create a custom mode and give it all permission (in my case it’s a planner mode) and then ask for a change and see how it reads files

Expected Behavior

to see read_file tool calls as agent work but instead we see

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

Linux

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.0.77
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: ba90f2f88e4911312761abab9492c42442117cf0
Date: 2025-11-13T23:10:43.113Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Linux x64 6.8.0-87-generic

For AI issues: which model did you use?

GPT-5.1 Codex High, GPT-5 High, Sonnet 4.5

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[Islam_Attrash]

It even used commands to write a file even though “Edit” tools are enabled in that mode

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known issue we’re already tracking. In custom modes, the read_file and edit_file tools aren’t working correctly, even when they’re enabled, and instead everything falls back to terminal commands.

Related thread: Tools are not available for custom mode

I’ll add your report to the existing ticket with your specific details about commands being used instead of tools.

To help the engineering team prioritize this, could you share a Request ID from one of the times this happened?

• Click the three dots in the chat → “Copy request ID”

[Islam_Attrash]

Thanks. Request ID: cced5fd2-7719-4334-a995-73c85bc66755