[BUG] Path-scoped rules in `.claude/rules/` not automatically loaded when working with matching files

Found 1 possible duplicate issue:

1. https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/16171

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

I can confirm the same behavior (failing to load rules based on frontmatter paths) in the vscode plugin 2.1.3. When I asked cc to reflect on it and the conversation (this has happened repeatedly in many sessions), it responded with:

My Mistakes
I did NOT read .claude/rules/deprecation.md before starting this work, even though:

It has paths: "**/*.{ts,tsx}" which should apply to all the files I was editing
It explicitly lists the deprecation patterns I was trying to fix
It would have given me the correct migration path upfront

I put back deprecated props to "make it work" - a shortcut the user rightfully caught

Why I Didn't Read the Rules
Honestly, I don't have a good excuse. The rules file exists specifically for this scenario. I jumped into implementation without checking for guidance that was already there.

I will also note that after running /context, even after @'ing the file and having it reflect, it is not part of any of the Memory Files.

I also confirmed that deleting frontmatter paths makes it show up in new sessions.

I can confirm this issue. Here's additional data from my testing:

Environment:

• Claude Code: v2.1.7
• Platform: Linux (VS Code dev container)

Test Results:

| Rule File (.claude/rules) | paths: Pattern | File Read | Loaded? |
|-----------|------------------|-----------|---------|
| config/environment.md | src/config/**/*.ts | src/config/env.ts | Yes |
| database/drizzle.md | db/**/*.ts | db/schema/users.ts | No |
| database/drizzle.md | src/repositories/**/*.ts | src/repositories/users.ts | No |
| testing/jest.md | **/*.test.ts | __tests__/unit/lib/line/client.test.ts | No |
| i18n/translations.md | src/i18n/**/*.ts | src/i18n/request.ts | No |

Only config/environment.md loaded correctly in my session, while other path-scoped rules with similar patterns failed. All rules use properly quoted YAML strings.

When specifying multiple paths, you must enclose them in quotes.

paths: "src/api/**/*,src/services/**/*": Loaded
paths: src/api/**/*,src/services/**/*: Not Loaded

Using brace expansion in a single path entry works:

# Does NOT work
paths:
  - src/**/*
  - lib/**/*

# Works
paths:
  - "{src,lib}/**/*"

Using brace expansion in a single path entry works: # Does NOT work paths: - src/**/ - lib/*/ # Works paths: - "{src,lib}/*/*"

This isn't working for me. I made this change, opened a fresh CC session, opened a file that should be scoped, and it does not show in /context or /memory. When I ask Claude "What rules are in context right now?" it lists AGENTS.md, etc. that should be global but not the scoped paths.

However, when I ask CC to do some work on the file, I can see it pulling in the relevant rules files in the thinking logs (files still aren't listed in context or memory, though).

It would be great if we could have a more reliable way to determine what is being loaded into memory. I work at a large SaaS company with many squads working on the same codebase and being able to scope rules so they don't bloat the context window for all engineers is a must for us. Not being able to reliably debug this is definitely a headache.

+1 on this issue. We're also experiencing this bug on Windows (Claude Code v2.1.29).

Our setup:

• Rule file: .claude/rules/lua-coding.md
• Path pattern: **/Script/Lua/**/*.lua
• Files being edited: workspace/game_repo/trunk_bjs/code/src/TXM/Package/Script/Lua/*.lua

The rules are never injected into context, even when directly editing files that match the glob pattern. This significantly impacts our workflow since we rely on path-scoped rules for language-specific coding standards.

Would appreciate an update on the timeline for a fix. Thanks!

Adding another data point: multiple paths: entries fail for me, single entry with brace expansion works.

Fails:

```
paths:

• "**/*.rs"
• "**/Cargo.toml"
• "**/Cargo.lock"
• "**/{clippy,rustfmt}.toml"

  Works:

paths:

• "**/*.{rs,toml,lock}"

My setup uses user-global rules in ~/.claude/rules/ (not project-level), and the rule files are symlinks. The three rules without paths: frontmatter in the same directory load fine. Claude Code v2.1.34, macOS.

Adding another data point: multiple paths: entries fail for me, single entry with brace expansion works. Fails: `` paths: - "**/*.rs" - "**/Cargo.toml" - "**/Cargo.lock" - "**/{clippy,rustfmt}.toml" ` Works: ` paths: - "**/*.{rs,toml,lock}" `` My setup uses user-global rules in ~/.claude/rules/ (not project-level), and the rule files are symlinks. The three rules without paths: frontmatter in the same directory load fine. Claude Code v2.1.34, macOS.

Confirming that this is the only way I can get path-specific rules to apply for me as well.

Anthropic's docs on this topic are misleading as they show examples with multiple path entries on different lines: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#glob-patterns

I have the same problem. In addition to it working only with a single path, it works only within the IDE (vscode in this case) if I have opened at least one file matching the path since I started claude code within the IDE terminal. It doesn't work at all in an external terminal.