Rules UX for 'apply to specific files' broken

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I can’t find a way to use the UI to add a glob. I’m sure I can type in the header, but the UX is broken.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Change to Apply to specific files (see image top)
  2. Try and click in the field.
    Last image shows the result. it just switches to manual.

Expected Behavior

Type in a glob pattern like those shown.
Or, failing that, tell me what to actually type in the MD so I don’t have to go find the docs.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 1.5.7 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: 6aa7b3af0d578b9a3aa3ab443571e1a51ebb4e80
Date: 2025-08-27T22:43:32.248Z
Electron: 34.5.8
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.1
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.5.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

Hey, thanks for the report. I just checked, and everything is working fine for me. Did you create the rule through the Cursor interface or manually create the file? Could you try this in another project? Also, restarting Cursor usually helps in such cases. However, let me know if none of this helps.

I restarted and still have the same behavior.

Direct repro:

  1. create new file via the Cursor Settings “+ Add rule” button → type “test-rules” at the top and press enter.
  2. test-rules.mdc is created. I see 3 items in the header including globs
  3. Switch the drop-down to select “Apple to Specific Files” → header reduces to only alwaysApply and changes to false. If I press tab or try and click, the drop-down immediately changes to manual ad the field disappears.

If I manually type globs: *.test.* the drop-down changes to “Apply to Specific Files” and I see the glob chip appear in the field. I can then interact with the field and type more.

If I remove the last chip the issue happens again. globs: is removed from the header and the drop-down immediately changes to manual.

I suspect the mode change that updates the header could be the bug. Perhaps a race condition that changes the mode or header before I can get my cursor in to the field?

I can’t reproduce this, could you please record a short video of this behavior?

This topic was automatically closed 22 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.