This issue started after upgrading from 4.3.3 to 5.0.2. I further upgraded to 5.1.0~M2 and it is still happening.

I have a simple rule in /etc/openhab/rules/tmp_pantry_light.rules:

rule "Temporary Pantry Light"
when
    Item Pantry_Door_Contact changed
then
    if (Pantry_Door_Contact.state == OPEN) {
        Pantry_CeilingLight.sendCommand(ON)
        Pantry_ShelfLight.sendCommand(ON)
    } else {
        Pantry_CeilingLight.sendCommand(OFF)
        Pantry_ShelfLight.sendCommand(OFF)
    }
end

When I restart openhab (e.g. systemctl restart openhab), I can see in log that the rule is loaded:

2025-11-19 09:40:54.695 [INFO ] [el.core.internal.ModelRepositoryImpl] - Loading model 'tmp_pantry_light.rules'

There are no warnings or errors around. But the rule does not appear on the /settings/rules/ page and it isn't working. Some other rules defined in /etc/openhab/rules/ are present and working.

If I make any change to the file, like add an empty line and save, the rule is reloaded:

2025-11-19 09:46:29.227 [INFO ] [el.core.internal.ModelRepositoryImpl] - Loading model 'tmp_pantry_light.rules'

And now it is present on the /settings/rules/ page and works.

I can reproduce it easily, it happens after every restart.

Your Environment

• openSUSE Leap 15.6
• openhab 5.1.0~M2 installed from the official openhab.jfrog.io respository
• openjdk 21.0.9 2025-10-21
  OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.9+10-suse-1500-x8664)
  OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21.0.9+10-suse-1500-x8664, mixed mode, sharing)