Can't connect to WSL (Ubuntu) from Cursor version 1.x

Bug Reports
1

Describe the Bug

I am unable to connect to WSL (Ubuntu) from Cursor while using a proxy.

The key issue is that this failure occurs even though I have correctly configured proxy settings within WSL itself, and they are working properly.

I can access the WSL terminal directly, and internet connectivity (e.g., using curl, apt) is fully functional through the configured proxy.

The error log shows the Cursor server installation script fails with a “Connection timed out” when trying to download components. This strongly suggests that the installation process initiated by Cursor is not honoring the existing and working proxy environment variables (HTTP_PROXY, HTTPS_PROXY) set inside WSL.

Steps to Reproduce

Configure the Windows host to use a proxy. (I’m turn off proxy, but still not working)

Open the Cursor application.

Attempt to connect to a WSL environment (e.g., select “Connect to WSL” from the Remote Explorer).

Observe the connection process failing and check the Output panel for the error log.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

  • Version: 1.1.6 (user setup)
  • VSCode Version: 1.96.2
  • Commit: 5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850
  • Date: 2025-06-25T02:20:02.577Z
  • Electron: 34.5.1
  • Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
  • Node.js: 20.19.0
  • V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
  • OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22000

Additional Information

I’m using a proxy.

I can’t access WSL (but VSCode connects to WSL successfully).

When I access WSL from the terminal, the internet works normally.

Environment:

  • Version: 1.1.6 (user setup)
  • VSCode Version: 1.96.2
  • Commit: 5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850
  • Date: 2025-06-25T02:20:02.577Z
  • Electron: 34.5.1
  • Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
  • Node.js: 20.19.0
  • V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
  • OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22000

Error log:

2025-06-27 14:44:58.591 [info] Reloading window

2025-06-27 14:45:01.068 [info] Resolving wsl remote authority 'wsl+Ubuntu' (attempt #1)

2025-06-27 14:45:01.068 [info] Checking output for installServerScript

2025-06-27 14:45:01.068 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript] Running command

2025-06-27 14:45:01.286 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: your 131072x1 screen size is bogus. expect trouble

2025-06-27 14:45:21.400 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: failed: Connection timed out.

2025-06-27 14:45:42.399 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: failed: Connection timed out.

2025-06-27 14:46:04.399 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: failed: Connection timed out.

2025-06-27 14:46:04.421 [error] Error installing Cursor server [wsl exec: installServerScript] Command failed with exit code 1: stdout: Killing all running Cursor servers

No running servers found

Killing running servers:

Removing all existing Cursor installations

removed directory '/home/****/.cursor-server/bin/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850'

removed directory '/home/****/.cursor-server/bin'

Downloading server from https://cursor.blob.core.windows.net/remote-releases/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/vscode-reh-linux-x64.tar.gz

Error downloading server from https://cursor.blob.core.windows.net/remote-releases/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/vscode-reh-linux-x64.tar.gz

b5c7f728b0c0e6e6db2ea572: start

exitCode==1==

listeningOn====

connectionToken====

arch==x86_64==

platform==Linux==

remoteNodePath==/home/****/.cursor-server/bin/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/node==

b5c7f728b0c0e6e6db2ea572: end

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

1 Like
3

Hey, thanks for the detailed report!
Tagging @ravirahman as our resident expert to help with this.

4

Hi @user129, could you share the full logs? The latest version of the extension will attempt to download the server on the Windows side if it fails to directly download it within WSL (e.g. due to proxies). From the logs you shared, I don’t see any indication that it then attempted to retry the install.

5

Thanks for your reply, I resolved it.

Problem:
Connecting to WSL from Cursor fails. It appears the built-in WSL setup process is broken.

Workaround:
I was able to resolve the issue by manually installing the WSL extension and the remote server.

Steps to Reproduce Workaround:

  1. Uninstall the WSL extension from Cursor.

  2. Manually install the WSL extension from VSIX file: ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl-0.88.3-web.vsix.

  3. In a WSL terminal, run the following commands to remove the old server and install a specific version manually:

    cd ~
rm -rf ~/.cursor-server
curl -L "https://cursor.blob.core.windows.net/remote-releases/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/vscode-reh-linux-x64.tar.gz" -o "cursor-server.tar.gz"
COMMIT_ID="5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850" && mkdir -p ~/.cursor-server/bin/$COMMIT_ID
tar -xzf ~/cursor-server.tar.gz -C ~/.cursor-server/bin/$COMMIT_ID/ --strip-components=1
ldd ~/.cursor-server/bin/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/node
~/.cursor-server/bin/5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850/bin/cursor-server --accept-server-license-terms

  4. After the script finishes, return to Cursor and connect to WSL using the “Distro” option.

Result:
The connection is now successful.

7

After each cursor update, I encounter the same error as above, and each time, I have to change the ID ‘5b19bac7a947f54e4caa3eb7e4c5fbf832389850’ to the Commit ID (It appears when the error occurs, so everyone should update the commit ID according to their own version).

For example:

Version: 1.2.0 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: eb5fa4768da0747b79dc34f0b79ab20dbf582020
Date: 2025-07-01T20:01:14.203Z
Electron: 34.5.1
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.0
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22000

→ Change it to the ID ‘eb5fa4768da0747b79dc34f0b79ab20dbf582020’

9

I tried to do exactly what you pointed out, I’ve been having this issue for days after a random update, but apparently the version of the .vsix you pointed out is not supported anymore with current cursor version.
What have you’ve been doing to solve this? It’s driving me crazy how I can’t just use cursor with WSL anymore

11

Hi @p-arth, could you share the logs from the Anysphere Remote WSL extension? We do not support sideloading the VSCode one.

We do require that localhost forwarding be enabled. Please see this thread for more: VSCode Server on WSL Fails with Download checksum: undefined Error - #10 by AuroraMaster

12

Hi @ravirahman I’ve shared some logs about my error in my own post, could you please check it out and answer there? Thanks

1 Like
14

  1. Search and download WSL version 0.88.3:

    • Open VSCode.
    • Go to Extensions (or press Ctrl + Shift + X).
    • Search for “WSL”.
    • Select version 0.88.3 and download it (click on the gear icon to select “Install Another Version”).

  2. Reinstall WSL extension through Command Palette in Cursor:

    • Open Cursor
    • Press Ctrl + P to open the Command Palette.
    • Type “Extensions: Install From VSIX” to open the list of installed extensions.
    • Choose and reinstall version 0.88.3.

  3. Then review my solution above

  4. Run WSL with Distro:

    • After reinstalling, press Ctrl + P again, type “WSL: Use Distro” to select and run the desired WSL distribution.

If you encounter any issues or if these steps don’t work, feel free to reply and I’ll help you further.

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