Feature request for product/service
Cursor IDE
Describe the request
Feature request for product/service
Cursor IDE
Describe the request
I would like Cursor to provide an option to exclude the Agent/Chat panel from the editor’s Back / Forward navigation history.
Previously, I used the Back button (or the corresponding Go Back command / mouse button) primarily to navigate between previous cursor locations in the code editor. This made it extremely convenient to jump through definitions, references, files, and previous editing locations.
In recent Cursor versions, navigation inside the Agent/Chat panel also appears to be added to the same navigation history.
As a result, when I press Back while working in the editor, instead of returning to the previous code location, Cursor may first navigate back through Agent chats, subagent views, or other Agent-related locations.
This makes the Back/Forward navigation behavior much less predictable for code navigation.
Current workaround
I tried changing the VS Code setting:
workbench.editor.navigationScope
to either:
editorGroup
or:
editor
in an attempt to isolate editor navigation.
However, in Cursor this workaround does not seem fully reliable. After changing the setting, Back/Forward navigation sometimes behaves unexpectedly or fails to navigate through editor locations correctly.
Therefore, changing workbench.editor.navigationScope is not a good replacement for the previous behavior.
Requested solution
Please add a dedicated Cursor setting that controls whether Agent/Chat navigation participates in the global Back/Forward navigation history.
For example:
Include Agent/Chat in Back/Forward Navigation History
- On: Editor and Agent/Chat share the navigation history, which is similar to the current behavior.
- Off: Back/Forward only navigates editor locations, while Agent/Chat maintains its own independent navigation history.
Alternatively, the setting could be exposed as:
Navigation History Scope
- Editor only
- Editor + Agent/Chat
When set to Editor only, I would expect the behavior to be similar to older Cursor versions: clicking Back while editing code should always return to the previous editor/cursor location and should not jump into the Agent panel.
Why this matters
The editor Back/Forward controls are extremely useful when navigating a large codebase. I frequently use them after:
- Go to Definition
- Go to References
- Opening another file
- Jumping between functions
- Following code across multiple files
Agent conversations are a different workflow from source-code navigation.
Mixing Agent/Chat navigation events into the same history stack means that interacting with the Agent can “pollute” the editor navigation history. After using the Agent for a while, I may need to go through several chat-related navigation entries before I can return to the previous code location.
I understand that some users may like the unified navigation behavior, especially for navigating between parent chats and subagent chats. Therefore, I am not suggesting removing the new behavior entirely.
I would simply like a setting that allows users to choose between:
Unified navigation history
and
Editor-only navigation history
This would preserve the newer Agent navigation workflow while allowing users who rely heavily on editor Back/Forward navigation to restore the previous behavior.
Operating System (if it applies)
Windows 10/11