# Rules not found **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Created:** [September 26, 2025, 9:15am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042 "2025-09-26T09:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ruan\_Gustavo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/ruan_gustavo/32/84855_2.png) [@Ruan\_Gustavo](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Ruan_Gustavo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 9:15am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/1 "2025-09-26T09:15:47Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug I’m facing a problem with opening projects. When I open them via CLI or the Windows “Open with” option, the rules aren’t found. However, if I open the cursor in a new window and select the project directly from the interface, it works fine. I’ve noticed others on this forum have encountered the same issue. The cursor mentioned that they resolved it, but I’m still experiencing the problem. ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Close all instances of Cursor. 2. From Windows Explorer, right-click on a project folder or file. 3. Select “Open with Cursor”. _Alternatively, run `cursor .` from the CLI inside the project directory._ ### Expected Behavior Cursor should open the project and load all rules correctly, identical to when the project is opened from **File → Open…** in the Cursor interface. ### Operating System Windows 10/11 ### Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy) Version: 1.6.26 (user setup) VSCode Version: 1.99.3 Commit: 6af2d906e8ca91654dd7c4224a73ef17900ad730 Date: 2025-09-16T17:12:31.697Z Electron: 34.5.8 Chromium: 132.0.6834.210 Node.js: 20.19.1 V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0 OS: Windows\_NT x64 10.0.19045 ### 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:** [September 26, 2025, 9:49am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/2 "2025-09-26T09:49:09Z")
Hey, thanks for the report. Could you try updating to the latest version of Cursor and let me know if the issue persists? ---
**Author:** ![Ruan\_Gustavo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/ruan_gustavo/32/84855_2.png) [@Ruan\_Gustavo](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Ruan_Gustavo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2025, 10:34am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/3 "2025-09-26T10:34:08Z")
Thanks for responding. I updated to the latest version and it’s still not working. ---
**Author:** ![scupit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/scupit/32/74266_2.png) [@scupit](https://forum.cursor.com/u/scupit)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 10:32pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/5 "2025-09-28T22:32:00Z")
I’m also having this issue in the latest non-beta version of Cursor on Windows 11: ```auto Version: 1.7.12 (user setup) VSCode Version: 1.99.3 Commit: b3f1951240d5016648330fab51192dc03e8d7050 Date: 2025-09-28T00:58:08.696Z Electron: 34.5.8 Chromium: 132.0.6834.210 Node.js: 20.19.1 V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0 OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100 ``` Additional context and request IDs in this thread: > [@Project-level cursor rules are never loaded in Windows 11](https://forum.cursor.com/t/project-level-cursor-rules-are-never-loaded-in-windows-11/132125): > > Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE Describe the Bug When a project is opened via the cursor command and a directory is specified, project-level rules .cursor/rules/\*.mdc are never loaded (and are never recognized in settings). However, rules work every time if you open cursor without specifying a path. For example: cursor path\to\project --disable-extensions: Rules are never loaded. cursor --disable-extensions: Rules always load/register properly. Steps to Reproduce Exe… Let me know if you need some newer request IDs or additional information about my environment! ---
**Author:** ![drgn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@drgn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/drgn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 9:49am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/6 "2025-10-01T09:49:35Z")
I have the same issue. I had not noticed loading a project with “Open Folder” instead of “right-click” menu or command line was fixing the issue. I had reported this: [Project Rules (.cursor/rules) Fail to Load After Restarting a Workspace - Bug Reports - Cursor - Community Forum](https://forum.cursor.com/t/project-rules-cursor-rules-fail-to-load-after-restarting-a-workspace/135634) ---
**Author:** ![Ruan\_Gustavo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/ruan_gustavo/32/84855_2.png) [@Ruan\_Gustavo](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Ruan_Gustavo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/7 "2025-10-01T13:15:09Z")
I’m doing this too, but it’s very tedious. I wish my roles would load automatically when I open the command via the CLI. ---
**Author:** ![drgn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@drgn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/drgn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 8:42am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/8 "2025-10-01T08:42:44Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug Project-specific rules defined in the .cursor/rules directory are correctly loaded and applied when created after the initial opening of a project folder. However, after closing and reopening the same folder, Cursor no longer recognizes or loads these rules, making them inaccessible through the Cursor Settings UI or Add Context UI and preventing “always apply” rules from functioning. ### Steps to Reproduce Steps: - Create a new, empty folder on your system. - Open this folder in Cursor (File \> Open Folder…). - Go to Cursor Settings \> Project tab. - Under “Project Rules,” create a new rule named agent-identity. - Set the rule’s content to: Your name is Bob Wilson. - Ensure the “Always apply this rule” checkbox is checked. - Start a new chat. Notice the GUI correctly shows the agent-identity rule has been automatically loaded. - Ask the AI: What is your full name? - Observe the correct response based on the rule (e.g., “My full name is Bob Wilson”). - Close the Cursor window entirely. - Re-open Cursor and the same project folder. - Start a new chat conversation. After reopening the project, the .cursor/rules are completely ignored. - The agent-identity rule is not automatically loaded into new chats. - The “Project Rules” section in Settings is empty. - The rule is missing from the Add Context \> Rules menu. - The AI gives a generic answer to “What is your full name?”, indicating it is unaware of the rule. ### Expected Behavior When the project is reopened, Cursor should recognize the .cursor directory. The agent-identity rule should be automatically loaded into new chats. The rule should be visible in Cursor Settings \> Project. The rule should be available to add manually from the Add Context \> Rules menu. Asking “What is your full name?” should again result in the AI responding, “My full name is Bob Wilson.” Interestingly, if you manually add the rule file (.cursor/rules/agent-identity.txt) to the chat using @file, Cursor makes a tool call to load its content, which is different from the seamless integration expected of a project rule. ### Screenshots / Screen Recordings ### Operating System Windows 10/11 ### Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy) Version: 1.7.28 (user setup) VSCode Version: 1.99.3 Commit: adb0f9e3e4f184bba7f3fa6dbfd72ad0ebb8cfd0 Date: 2025-10-01T02:45:21.769Z Electron: 34.5.8 Chromium: 132.0.6834.210 Node.js: 20.19.1 V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0 OS: Windows\_NT x64 10.0.22631 ### Additional Information This bug was already present in 1.5, and is still present in 1.7 version. I expect it to be triggered by my environment. Otherwise everyone would have already complained. In the only thing special I can think of about my environment is that I am using Cursor via an Enterprise Plan. And my company cursor settings and policy is very strict and restrictive. ### Does this stop you from using Cursor Yes - Cursor is unusable ---
**Author:** ![drgn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@drgn](https://forum.cursor.com/u/drgn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/9 "2025-10-01T09:50:47Z")
I have discover reading [Rules not found - Bug Reports - Cursor - Community Forum](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/6) that the problem explained above is only trigger is I re-open cursor using the command line “cursor” command or with a “right-click” on the folder. If I open a project using “Open Folder” from cursor, the rules are correctly loaded ---
**Author:** ![d514f254929feeb0791c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@d514f254929feeb0791c](https://forum.cursor.com/u/d514f254929feeb0791c)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/10 "2025-10-06T12:51:20Z")
That’s correct, i was able to solve it by booting cursor without the right-click on folder. Thank you ---
**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:** [October 7, 2025, 8:39am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/11 "2025-10-07T08:39:19Z")
Thanks for the info. The team is also working on fixing this. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2025, 8:40am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/rules-not-found/135042/12 "2025-10-29T08:40:10Z")
Closed on October 29, 2025, 8:40am UTC This topic was automatically closed 22 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.