Agent mode is very slow

Support Bug Reports
1

Describe the Bug

The agent responds and generates tokens very slow, making the experience very bad. Also, the Cursor IDE lags.

Steps to Reproduce

Just make an Agent request.

Expected Behavior

The Agent should respond quickly and the IDE shouldn’t lag.

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.1.6
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 92340560ea81cb6168e2027596519d68af6c90a0
Date: 2025-11-20T03:38:22.386Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.1.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Auto

Additional Information

I’m using Macbook Air M4, so this shouldn’t be a hardware issue.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

1 Like
2

Hey, thanks for the report.

Slow token generation and IDE lag are often caused by extensions. Try this test:

  1. Run cursor --disable-extensions in your terminal
  2. In the new window, create a fresh Agent chat (don’t open a project)
  3. Send a test message

If the Agent works fine, the issue is with extensions. Then:

  • Open the Extensions panel and remove extensions one by one to find the culprit
  • Or use Extension Monitor: CMD+, > search “Extension Monitor” > enable, then CMD+Shift+P > Developer: Open Extension Monitor

Also check process load:

  • CMD+Shift+P > Developer: Open Process Explorer
  • Look at CPU usage for extensionHost and ptyHost

If the issue persists even with extensions disabled, please share:

  • A screenshot from Process Explorer
  • The Request ID (Chat context menu > Copy Request ID)
  • Whether you’re using Plan mode with many TODOs

Let me know how it goes.

3

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