New Cursor Rules directory format not working

Support Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Updating the project rules to match the new format in the documentation says that the new file should be RULE.md, however Cursor doesn’t detect this as a project rule. Changing the extension back to .mdc allows Cursor to detect the rule.

Currently on Cursor v2.3.1, which I updated to after it wasn’t working on 2.2.x

https://cursor.com/docs/context/rules#project-rules

Steps to Reproduce

  • Create a directory inside .cursor/rules with a rule file name RULE.md to match the format provided in the new documentation (Rules | Cursor Docs)
  • Go to Cursor → Settings → Cursor Settings → Rules and Commands
  • See that Project Rules does not pick up the rule
  • Change file extension to .mdc
  • See that Project Rules does pick the rule up (May require closing and reopening Cursor Settings)

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.3.2
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 2446f6df42b9220bf9aab6f1e968e74b0eb1e210
Date: 2025-12-23T02:24:09.900Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

2

Hey, thanks for the report.

This is a known issue that was fixed recently. Here are a couple things to try:

  1. Reload Window: Command Palette → “Reload Window”
  2. Create a rule via the UI: Settings → Rules → + Add Rule, then check whether new rules use the RULE.md folder format

If you’re still on 2.3.1 or 2.3.2 and it’s not working, the fix may land in the next build. As a workaround, .mdc files work reliably for now.

Related thread with more context: Project Rules: Documented RULE.md folder format not working, only undocumented .mdc format works

Let me know if Reload Window helps, or if the issue still persists after creating a rule via the UI.

3

This issue is still persistent on the newest releases:

Version: 2.2.43
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 32cfbe848b35d9eb320980195985450f244b3030
Date: 2025-12-19T06:06:44.644Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.2.0

4

Hi Dean,

I’m on version 2.3.4 as of this morning and the RULE.md files still aren’t detected after trying Reload Window. When I use the Add Rule button via the UI it’s also still creating the .mdc files.

I converted my rules back to .mdc for now so not a major blocker

Thanks!

Version: 2.3.4
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 913a999918b808c4394828f88a65ae8d90f19210
Date: 2025-12-23T17:20:41.610Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

2 Likes
5

its version 2.3.34 and rules still is not fix. The docs say .mdc is legacy and should use the folder and rules.md. I cannot believe this basic feature is not fixed in cursor

1 Like
6

I am having th same issue..

Version: 2.3.34 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 643ba67cd252e2888e296dd0cf34a0c5d7625b90
Date: 2026-01-10T21:17:10.428Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19045

7

This morning I woke up to the legacy (???) rules format not working (.cursor/rules/whatever.mdc). All my rules are gone from the UI and the agents aren’t aware of them either. When I create a new rule in the UI, it puts it in the skills directory (.cursor/skills/whatever/SKILL.md). What!? Everything grinds to a halt when we come into work and we’re missing our system prompts. This isn’t acceptable. I am on 2.3.35.

8

And if I put rules in the skills directory, then it doesn’t understand globs, and a bunch of rules don’t parse and apply correctly.

9

I can’t find a way to get rules to work at all. The workaround above doesn’t work since the legacy format seems to be dead. I tried the new format from the docs that disappeared since this thread was posted (.cursor/rules/whatever/RULE.md). I tried using skills, but globs are broken and we rely on globs. Dead in the water.