Activity bar position bug

[airforcz]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

There is only one activity bar position, default, and it cannot be moved from the top to the left.

Steps to Reproduce

None

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.4.0-pre.46.patch.0 (system setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 670f701690eeb27b6643eeee658d3016e0d2bb40
Date: 2026-01-17T23:37:19.378Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Nightly
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known limitation. Cursor overrides VS Code’s default Activity Bar options.

Workaround: add this to your settings.json (Ctrl + Shift + P > “Open User Settings JSON”):

"workbench.activityBar.orientation": "vertical"

This should move the Activity Bar to a vertical position on the left.