[BUG] Path-scoped rules with multiple paths in frontmatter silently fail to load

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Rules in .claude/rules/ with a paths: frontmatter containing multiple entries silently fail to load. The rule never appears in context, even when Claude reads a file matching one of the patterns. The same rule with a single path works correctly.

What Should Happen?

Rules with multiple paths should load when Claude reads a file matching any of the listed patterns, as documented at https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#modular-rules-with-clauderules

Error Messages/Logs

No error messages. The failure is silent — the rule simply never loads. /memory shows only global rules (no paths: frontmatter). The "Loaded .claude/rules/..." message never appears for multi-path rules.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create .claude/rules/test-multi-path.md:

---
paths:

• "src/controllers/**"
• "src/requests/**"

---

Test rule

• This is a test convention

1. Create matching files:

mkdir -p src/controllers src/requests
echo "test" > src/controllers/TestController.php
echo "test" > src/requests/TestRequest.php

1. Start Claude Code: claude
2. Ask: "Read src/controllers/TestController.php"
3. Run /memory
4. Observe: test-multi-path.md is NOT listed

1. Now edit the rule to use a single path:

---
paths:

• "src/controllers/**"

---

1. Restart Claude Code, repeat step 4-5
2. Observe: test-multi-path.md IS listed

Single path = works. Multiple paths = silently ignored.

Claude Model

Opus

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.74 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

Tested YAML variants that all fail with multiple paths:

• Double quotes: "path/**"
• Single quotes: 'path/**'
• No quotes: path/**
• Inline array: ["path1/**", "path2/**"]
• Using globs: instead of paths:

Single path works at any depth:

• apps/api/** ✅
• apps/api/app/** ✅
• apps/api/app/Http/** ✅
• apps/api/app/Http/Controllers/** ✅

Related issues: #17204, #16299, #23478

Documentation showing multiple paths as supported:
https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory#modular-rules-with-clauderules