Title: Investigating Cursor Rules in 49.6: Major Issues Uncovered
Cursor rules in 49.6 are behaving inconsistently for me, so I conducted deep testing to understand their functionality. I discovered reproducible issues that severely impact context management, making rules unreliable for workflows like task creation.
Major Discoveries:
- Auto Attached Rules Don’t Load: Rules for specific file types (e.g.,
*.py
or*.txt
) often fail to apply when you open, edit, or reference files (e.g.,@file.py
). For example, a rule to add comments (e.g.,# Rule Applied
) to Python files rarely works, even with correct setup in.cursor/rules
. This bug (Bug 1) means your custom formatting or context instructions are frequently ignored, disrupting file-specific workflows. - Always Rules Are Unstable: Rules set to apply universally (e.g., adding a header like
# Always Rule
to all responses) work briefly but drop off in longer sessions. In a 20-prompt test, the header was missing in 18 responses, often failing after the first or second prompt. This bug (Bug 2) makes consistent context unreliable, as rules vanish unpredictably during extended use.
Actions Taken: I’ve filed two bug reports in the Bug Reports section:
If you’ve experienced these issues, please reply to the bug reports, by confirming you have experienced these issues. This will help Cursor understand this issue is widespread.
Testing Details: I’ll reply with a detailed test summary outlining the methodology and results for those interested.
Discussion: Please share your experiences with rules in Cursor 49.6 so we can build a more accurate picture of how they’re working for users. Are rules applying inconsistently for you, or have you found workarounds? Let’s collaborate to understand the user experience!
Note: Testing done in Cursor 49.6, Gemini 2.5, Windows. Procedural agent errors also noted.