Rules not taken into account when agent runs in a new worktree

[Lukasz_Fiszer (Łukasz Fiszer)]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When using Agents Window to create a new agent in a new worktree (Worktrees | Cursor Docs), the agent does not automatically read the rules/context files (AGENT.md, .cursor rules). The issue happens ONLY when using “new worktree”, running directly in a a local repo works as expected.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open cursor Agent window
2. Click New Agent
3. Select a local repo, branch and “New Worktree” environment
4. Write any prompt.
5. Observe that agent is not following instructions from rules files (neither AGENT.md, neither .cursor files)
6. Open “Context Usage” report and observe there is not “Rules” section.
7. Run the same prompt in the same repo but in “local” environment → observe rules being read and applied.

Expected Behavior

Agent follow the rules.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.7.36
VS Code Extension API: 1.105.1
Commit: 776d1f9d76df50a4e0aeca61819a88e7c1b861e0
Date: 2026-06-13T00:31:56.287Z
Layout: glass
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Any model

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[Lukasz_Fiszer (Łukasz Fiszer)]

Here’s the context report with the same repo and prompt without using the worktree

[Colin]

Thanks for the report @Lukasz_Fiszer. It’s true! Project rules and Skills don’t work in Worktrees. We are already tracking this and I’ve bumped up the priority of the issue.