never-applied rule: what it flags and the fix

What it catches#

Cursor rule has no alwaysApply, globs or description.

A Cursor .mdc rule with frontmatter that sets none of alwaysApply: true, globs or description. Cursor then includes the rule only when someone @-mentions it in chat.

Why it matters#

Cursor then applies the rule only when you @-mention it, which is rarely what the author meant.

Bad example#

---
description:
globs:
alwaysApply: false
---

Use the repository pattern for all database access.

This is the template Cursor creates for a new rule, saved without filling it in. The rule looks active in the rules list, but Cursor never loads it on its own.

Good example#

---
description: Database access conventions
globs: src/db/**/*.ts
alwaysApply: false
---

Use the repository pattern for all database access.

How to fix#

Choose how the rule should load. alwaysApply: true puts it in every chat. globs attaches it when a matching file is in context. description lets the agent pull it in when the task matches. Leaving all three empty only makes sense for a rule you always @-mention by hand.

Suppress or configure#

For one finding, put a comment on the line above it. The reason after -- is optional but worth writing:

<!-- asitis-disable-next-line never-applied -- why this one is fine -->

For a whole file:

<!-- asitis-disable-file never-applied -- why this file is an exception -->

For every file, turn it off or change its severity in .asitisrc.json:

{ "rules": { "never-applied": "off" } }

A .asitisrc.json overrides entry limits a change to some paths, and a baseline (asitis lint --format json --write-baseline) accepts today's findings so only new ones fail the build.

Source#

Cursor docs: Rules, read on 14 October 2026.

never-applied