Agent Execution Timed Out on every message

Support Bug Reports
1

Hi,

I’m having an issue with Cursor where every message I send fails with the following error:

Agent Execution Timed Out
The agent execution provider did not respond in time. This may indicate the extension host is not running or is unresponsive.

This happens consistently with any prompt, so it does not seem related to a specific request.

I have already tried reloading the Cursor, but the issue persists.

The error also shows a request ID, for example:

ad2bab30-c6f8-4b2d-96b8-c7cdc61169f1

Has anyone experienced the same issue?

Thanks.

EDIT:

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Editor, Tab & Chat — Agent / Chat.

Describe the Bug

Every message sent to Cursor Agent fails with an “Agent Execution Timed Out” error.

The error message says:

The agent execution provider did not respond in time. This may indicate the extension host is not running or is unresponsive.

This happens with any prompt, regardless of its content.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Cursor.
  2. Open Agent / Chat.
  3. Send any message.
  4. Wait for the response.
  5. The request fails with “Agent Execution Timed Out”.

The issue is reproducible every time.

Expected Behavior

Cursor Agent should process the prompt and return a response normally.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

imagen
imagen657×332 10.8 KB

imagen
imagen604×802 18.2 KB

Operating System

Edición Windows 11 Pro
Versión 25H2
Procesador 12th Gen Intel(R) Core™ i7-12700 (2.10 GHz)
RAM instalada 32,0 GB (31,8 GB usable)
Tarjeta gráfica NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8 GB)

Version Information

Version: 3.19.7 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: 90de2327392570a5f5f625c656c6749d228e6430
Date: 2026-09-02T23:03:07.739Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 42.10.0
Chromium: 148.0.7778.280
Node.js: 24.18.1
V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.291
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

For AI issues: which model did you use?

The issue occurs independently of the prompt.
Composser, Grok , Auto

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

Request ID:

ad2bab30-c6f8-4b2d-96b8-c7cdc61169f1

Additional Information

I already tried reloading the Cursor window, but the problem persists.

The issue occurs for every message, so Cursor Agent is currently unusable.

I already tried reinstall Cusor, but the problem persists.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

Yes - Cursor is unusable

Extra: I’ve also noticed that Cursor never finishes loading my pending changes in the IDE, even though git log shows the repository correctly. Also, under Customize, integrations like Jira, Slack, etc. are no longer loading as they normally do.

2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
  • Something else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. …
  2. …
  3. …

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

10

Hey @Rodolfo_Hoffmann!

The crash telemetry Cursor sends us shows the extension host (the process that runs extensions and the agent’s tools) stalling for over a minute while extensions load at startup, and it has been doing that on every version you’ve run recently, including 3.19.13.

Could you try running with extensions disabled? Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and run “Extensions: Disable All Installed Extensions”, then fully quit Cursor: close all windows, open Task Manager, and end any remaining Cursor.exe processes. Start Cursor again, open Agent, and send a short message.

If that fixes it, re-enable your extensions a few at a time and restart in between to find the one responsible.

Let us know how it goes either way!

11

I found the problem: a Windows environment variable named 25 was preventing Cursor’s Extension Host from starting. Its purely numeric name was not handled correctly when Cursor passed the environment variables to Electron, resulting in the “Agent Execution Timed Out” error. Removing the variable resolved the issue.

15

image
image1024×744 162 KB

super weird, will look into that

22

Hey @Rodolfo_Hoffmann, thanks again for coming back with that, and glad you are unblocked.

You are right. We reproduced it on our side: if the environment Cursor starts in contains a variable whose name is only digits (like 25), the part of Cursor that runs extensions and the agent’s tools cannot start at all.

Do you know how that 25 variable got there (a user or system variable in Windows settings, or something set in a terminal you launched Cursor from)? No need to dig, whatever you remember is fine.

Thanks again for reporting back with the answer, it will help other people who hit this.

23

Hey Colin, thanks for confirming and reproducing it!

In our case, it was simply an environment configuration mistake. The variable was meant to be named J25, which we use internally, but a stray variable named 25 was accidentally left behind and never removed. It had been there unnoticed for quite some time, so the connection was not obvious at first.

Thanks again for looking into it. I’m glad the root cause is now confirmed and can hopefully help others who encounter the same issue.

25

Hey @Rodolfo_Hoffmann,

Quick follow-up on this one. We’ve landed a change so Cursor now ignores environment variables with all-digit names (like that stray 25) instead of failing to start the part that runs extensions and the agent’s tools. It will be included in an upcoming version of Cursor (3.20) so nobody else should have to hunt this one down.

Thanks again for tracking it down and reporting back!