# Why can’t I see my rules? I have to go into the settings to find them. Previously, restarting Cursor would make them load, but now they simply don’t show up at all

**URL:** <https://forum.cursor.com/t/why-can-t-i-see-my-rules-i-have-to-go-into-the-settings-to-find-them-previously-restarting-cursor-would-make-them-load-but-now-they-simply-don-t-show-up-at-all/168811>\
**Category:** Bug Reports\
**Tags:** rules\
**Created:** [August 19, 2026, 4:32am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/why-can-t-i-see-my-rules-i-have-to-go-into-the-settings-to-find-them-previously-restarting-cursor-would-make-them-load-but-now-they-simply-don-t-show-up-at-all/168811 "2026-08-19T04:32:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 9

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**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:** [August 22, 2026, 7:20am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/why-can-t-i-see-my-rules-i-have-to-go-into-the-settings-to-find-them-previously-restarting-cursor-would-make-them-load-but-now-they-simply-don-t-show-up-at-all/168811/9 "2026-08-22T07:20:41Z")

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Thanks for clarifying. This is a different setup than in the original post. Your rules are in `~/.cursor/rules` (a global user directory), and that’s separate from project rules.

Here’s how it works today.

About `~/.cursor/rules/*.mdc`. These files are only partially supported, and there are two gotchas that can make the list look empty:

1. A file without `---` frontmatter is silently ignored. If your `.mdc` starts right away with `# ...` and doesn’t have a `---` block at the top, it won’t be picked up. Frontmatter fields like `description`, `globs`, and `alwaysApply` are required.
2. Cursor searches upward from the opened project directory. So `~/.cursor/rules` is only found if the project itself is inside your home directory. If your project lives somewhere else, the global folder won’t be loaded. This is a known limitation we’re tracking, but there’s no ETA yet.

What works reliably for one set of rules for all projects. Use User Rules: Cursor Settings (not VS Code settings) \> Rules \> User Rules \> New rule. This is plain text with no frontmatter or globs. It’s global and injected into every Agent chat no matter where the project is located. For tone and general preferences, this is the easiest path.

Why rules show up in Settings but not in Customize. Settings \> Rules shows workspace scoped project rules plus User Rules. Use Cursor Settings (not VS Code settings), open the Rules tab.

Another option, if you want to keep everything in a personal repo and reuse it across projects, is to package it as a plugin with always-on rules. Another user did this and it worked well for them.

There’s also a thread about bringing file-backed user rules to parity with `.cursor/rules` here: [File-backed / agent-editable User Rules (parity with project `.cursor/rules`)](https://forum.cursor.com/t/file-backed-agent-editable-user-rules-parity-with-project-cursor-rules/166055)

Try moving the rule into User Rules, or add frontmatter to your `.mdc`, and let me know if it gets picked up.

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