Hi, I added a user-level writing-style rule under ~/.cursor/rules/ with alwaysApply: true. In a later project chat, the agent still wrote in a more generic style until I pasted the same instructions into the thread. Can you confirm whether user-level .mdc rules are expected to apply across all workspaces, and if not, where I should put a rule so it actually always applies?
Hey, thanks for the request. There’s an important difference between the two mechanisms.
If you want a rule to apply globally across all workspaces, use User Rules, not .mdc files. You set them in Settings → Customize → Rules. These are what apply to Agent (Chat) across all projects. For writing style, that’s the right tool.
.mdc files with alwaysApply: true in .cursor/rules/ are project rules. They get injected into every chat, but only within the project that contains the .cursor/rules/ folder. Using your home directory as a global mechanism isn’t documented, so other workspaces won’t pick it up. That’s expected behavior.
A couple notes about User Rules:
- They only work for Agent (Chat). They don’t affect Cursor Tab or Inline Edit
Cmd+K. - alwaysApply and User Rules make sure the rule text is included in context, but how closely the model follows it depends on the model. For writing style, keep the rule short and specific.
Try moving the style into User Rules and let me know how it goes.
Thank you Dean!
I’ll try this shortly.