Nested rules (Sub module rules) not attached

[minhle0908]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I have the project structure that is similar to the rule documentation

project/
  .cursor/rules/        # Project-wide rules
  backend/
    herobroker-api/
      .cursor/rules/    # Backend rules
  frontend/
    .cursor/rules/      # Frontend rules
  backoffice/
    .cursor/rules/     # Admin frontend rules

The project-wide rules are attached correctly. When I access a file in submodule (eg. backend), it can not detect the rule of the sub modules where it belongs.
However, when I opened a new Cursor window where sub module is root. The rules were attached correctly

Steps to Reproduce

• Create the above rule structure
• Open a file in submodule that rules in submodule should be applied

Expected Behavior

• Should attach correctly

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 1.7.17 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: 34881053400013f38e2354f1479c88c9067039a0
Date: 2025-09-29T03:10:26.099Z (1 day ago)
Electron: 34.5.8
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.1
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

All models

Additional Information

Things working normally when I open submodules as root in separate windows

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[minhle0908]

[minhle0908]

When open a backend module in separate window, things get attached correctly

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. The issue in Cursor with nested .cursor/rules in monorepos is known.

You can try these fixes:

1. Update to the latest version of Cursor (there are improvements for nested rules).
2. Check your globs and alwaysApply in rules — make sure the file paths are correct.
3. Open submodules as separate workspaces (as you did) — that’s a valid workaround.
4. If you need it right now, reference rules manually via @ruleName.

There isn’t a complete fix yet, the team is working on it.