Plan mode no longer updates plan files

Support Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

In plan mode, the agent will create an initial plan, but then any conversation after that which should result in updates to the plan markdown file generally result in the agent stating that since it is in ‘plan’ mode, it cannot update files (including the plan file) and it instead describes the updates to me in the agent chat instead of manipulating the plan.md file. If I argue with it, I can eventually get it to realize that it can, in fact, update the plan markdown file, but this can take two or three prompts (and the associated wasted tokens) to get the agent to realize that it is actually allowed to manipulate plan.md files when in plan-mode. This is a recent regression, but I’m not certain which version introduced this bug.

Steps to Reproduce

Go into plan mode. Ask the agent to produce a plan for something. Then, while still in plan mode, ask the agent to update or modify the plan in some way (for Step 2, please do X instead of Y). Watch the agent generate a bunch of text in the chat window describing how it will update the plan, without it actually manipulating the markdown file. Pay close attention to the “reasoning” as it flashes by, you’ll see it make comments to itself about being read-only due to plan mode.

Expected Behavior

When discussing a plan with the agent in plan mode, the plan markdown file should be updated by the agent as the plan evolves.

Operating System

Windows 10/11
Linux

Version Information

v2.6.13 (user setup)

For AI issues: which model did you use?

No idea, in “auto” mode.

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

7f3d6051-6267-4500-ad22-b3645800fccc
8dce3bcc-86b2-46a0-b8ec-339f535e46a6
c4aca82e-be54-40e4-a552-8e1a7f094f65

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

4

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Plan mode cannot edit plan files (.plan.md) even though it’s supposed to

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and the request ID. This is a known bug. Plan mode blocks editing files entirely, including its own .plan.md files.

A few other users have hit the same thing:

Workarounds that can help:

  1. Start a new chat, press CTRL + I, switch to Plan mode, then repeat the request to update the plan.
  2. Make the prompt very explicit: “Edit the plan file directly, update the .plan.md”. Sometimes this helps the model get past the restriction.
  3. Switch to Agent mode to edit the plan as a fallback.

The team is aware of the issue. There’s no timeline yet, but your report, and the request ID, help with prioritization.

@vidhya_sagar this affects you too, try the workarounds above.