diff --git a/.cursor/rules/tracker.mdc b/.cursor/rules/tracker.mdc
index c6ff180..375dbd9 100644
--- a/.cursor/rules/tracker.mdc
+++ b/.cursor/rules/tracker.mdc
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+---
+alwaysApply: true
+---
+
 # Work Item Tracker
 
 - Use **Jira** as the sole work item tracker (MCP server: `user-Jira-MCP-Server`)
diff --git a/_docs/_autopilot_state.md b/_docs/_autopilot_state.md
index 8663884..8cd4e94 100644
--- a/_docs/_autopilot_state.md
+++ b/_docs/_autopilot_state.md
@@ -4,6 +4,6 @@
 flow: existing-code
 step: 8
 name: New Task
-status: not_started
-sub_step: 0
+status: in_progress
+sub_step: 1 — Gather Feature Description
 retry_count: 0