# \`read\_file\` and \`write\` tools blocked by \`.cursorignore\` even when file is empty or deleted **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Tags:** context, rules\ **Created:** [January 14, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/read-file-and-write-tools-blocked-by-cursorignore-even-when-file-is-empty-or-deleted/148852 "2026-01-14T07:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Denzel17](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/denzel17/32/94371_2.png) [@Denzel17](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Denzel17)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/read-file-and-write-tools-blocked-by-cursorignore-even-when-file-is-empty-or-deleted/148852/1 "2026-01-14T07:41:28Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug Cursor’s `read_file` and `write` tools report “Read blocked by cursor ignore” error even when `.cursorignore` file contains only comments or is completely deleted. Both tools are blocked with the same error message, suggesting blocking occurs before operation type is checked. Terminal commands (`cat`, `grep`, `echo > file`, etc.) work perfectly, indicating this is a Cursor-specific tool issue, not a file permission problem. ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Open a Git repository workspace in Cursor 2. Create or verify `.cursorignore` file exists (even if empty or contains only comments) 3. Attempt to use `read_file` tool on any file in the repository 4. Observe the error: “Error: Read blocked by cursor ignore” 5. Attempt to use `write` tool to create a file 6. Observe the same error: “Rejected: Read blocked by cursor ignore” # Terminal commands work fine $ cat CONVERSATION\_CONTEXT.md # File content displays correctly ✅ $ echo “test” \> .test.txt && cat .test.txt && rm .test.txt # File write/read/delete works ✅ # But Cursor tools fail # read\_file: Error: Read blocked by cursor ignore ❌ # write: Rejected: Read blocked by cursor ignore ❌ ### Expected Behavior - `read_file` tool should work when `.cursorignore` is empty or contains only comments - `read_file` tool should work when `.cursorignore` file is deleted - `write` tool should work when `.cursorignore` is empty or contains only comments - `write` tool should work when `.cursorignore` file is deleted - Files should be readable/writable via Cursor tools unless explicitly ignored in `.cursorignore` ### Screenshots / Screen Recordings ![Screenshot 2026-01-14 125137.png](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/a/3/a3b1d7c2494014edd5fb31b77c907a2a09e56965.png) ### Operating System Windows 10/11 ### Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy) Version: 2.3.35 (system setup) VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: cf8353edc265f5e46b798bfb276861d0bf3bf120 Date: 2026-01-13T07:39:18.564Z 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 10.0.26100 ### For AI issues: which model did you use? Auto ### Does this stop you from using Cursor No - Cursor works, but with this issue ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 8:45am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/read-file-and-write-tools-blocked-by-cursorignore-even-when-file-is-empty-or-deleted/148852/3 "2026-01-14T08:45:07Z")
Hey, this is a known issue. The team is aware and working on a fix. For now, you can try a few things: 1. Check parent directories for a `.cursorignore` file. Sometimes it gets picked up from a folder above: 2. Fully restart Cursor. Not just close the window, but quit it completely with Cmd+Q or Alt+F4, then open it again. 3. Check Cursor Settings \> General \> Global Cursor Ignore List and make sure there aren’t any patterns that match your files. Workaround from another user: files are read normally if they’re opened in the editor. If nothing helps, can you share the contents of your `.gitignore`? I suspect the issue might be related to how negations are handled. ---
**Author:** ![Denzel17](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/denzel17/32/94371_2.png) [@Denzel17](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Denzel17)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/read-file-and-write-tools-blocked-by-cursorignore-even-when-file-is-empty-or-deleted/148852/4 "2026-01-28T14:40:47Z")
I deleted all the Cursor ignore and cache files, completely shut down Cursor, and then restarted it. That seems to have solved the issue for now. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/system/32/99069_2.png) [@system](https://forum.cursor.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/read-file-and-write-tools-blocked-by-cursorignore-even-when-file-is-empty-or-deleted/148852/5 "2026-02-19T14:41:34Z")
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