Cursor is not working on my Windows 11 with some unexpected errors.
I got this error.
”Extension host terminated unexpectedly 3 times within the last 5 minutes.”
I’m using Astrill VPN. If I uninstall it, a cursor works. But I need to use VPN.
Actually it works well few days ago, but now it’s broken.
I’m not sure what I have to do.
Hey, I see you already posted about this in this thread V3.0.12: Extension host terminated unexpectedly 3 times within the last 5 minutes - #9 by Gary_Jiang. This is a known issue on Windows, and VPN clients, especially ones with system-level network drivers, can trigger it.
Since you need a VPN, here’s what I’d try in order:
Split tunneling in Astrill. If it’s available, exclude the Cursor process from the VPN tunnel. In Astrill it’s usually in Settings > App Filter or Split Tunnel.
Turn off Codebase Indexing. Cursor Settings (not VS Code settings) > Indexing & Docs > turn off Codebase Indexing. If you see Index Repositories for Instant Grep (BETA), turn that off too. Restart Cursor.
Disable HTTP/2. App Settings Cmd+, > search for HTTP/2 > enable Disable HTTP/2. Restart.
Try a different protocol in Astrill. If you’re using StealthVPN or OpenVPN, try OpenWeb instead, it tends to interfere less with Windows networking.
Also, please share your Cursor version from Help > About. The best workarounds depend on the version.
The team is aware of the extension host issue on Windows. Let me know what helps.
Thanks for checking everything. I see you’re on version 3.0.16 on Windows 11.
First thing I’d suggest is updating to the latest Cursor version. Use Help > Check for Updates, or just reinstall from Cursor · Download. 3.0.16 had some bugs around the extension host, and some of them are already fixed in newer releases.
If it still crashes after updating, let’s collect more details:
Start Cursor with extensions disabled. From PowerShell or CMD:
cursor --disable-extensions
Do this with Astrill enabled. If it doesn’t crash, it’s likely a specific extension. If it still crashes, it’s deeper than that.
Grab logs from Developer Tools. Go to Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console. Reproduce the crash and send the red lines right before “Extension host terminated”.
Extension Host logs. Run Ctrl+Shift+P then Developer: Open Extensions Logs Folder, and attach the newest exthost.log.
Check VS Code. If you have it installed, does it work with Astrill enabled? This helps tell if it’s Cursor-specific or something affecting Electron apps on your machine.
One more Astrill note. Check Smart Mode and its built-in traffic filtering. Those can sometimes break local sockets, which the extension host depends on.
We are tracking an extension host bug on Windows, and there’s no ETA for a fix yet. The logs will help us link your case to the ongoing investigation.
exthost.log.txt (42.7 KB)
I am using latest Cursor and resetup OS. VS Code is working well.
But Cursor is not working. Please investigate issue asap.
Thanks.
Hey, thanks for the logs. But they don’t show the root cause yet. The extension host isn’t crashing on its own, it’s being closed by the renderer (renderer closed the MessagePort, exit code 0) about 5 to 8 seconds after startup. All extensions activate successfully before that. So the issue isn’t in the extensions themselves, it’s somewhere on the main or renderer process side.
To move forward, I need a few things:
Are you the same user as @Gary_Jiang, or is this a different case? Do you also have Astrill VPN installed and running? If yes, try fully disabling the Astrill service, not just the client, then launch Cursor.
The exact Cursor version from Help > About.
Renderer and main process logs. Open Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console, reproduce the issue, and share the red errors, especially the ones right before “Extension host terminated”.
Main process log: Ctrl+Shift+P > Developer: Open Logs Folder > find main.log from the same session and attach it.
Run this in PowerShell and share the output:
cursor --disable-extensions --verbose
Extension host issues on Windows are known, but your pattern, where the renderer initiates the shutdown, is different from the typical crash. That’s why I want to see the renderer and main logs so we don’t have to guess.
I encountered the same issue on Windows 11. I used cursor to debugged this issue, and the answer to me is a bit surprising. The Winsock LSP C:\WINDOWS\system32\ASProxy64.dll is injected into the process, which caused exactly the the same problem as you saw.
For me, except the Extension host terminated unexpectedly 3 times within the last 5 minutes. problem, I cannot preview my Typst files. Both cursor and VS Code crashes on my computer.
However, I don’t have this problem on my other computer, which is a Windows 10 computer.
So I think the root cause is the Astrill, which is not working properly on Windows 11. Astrill seems to do more than a VPN that should do. I am seeking solutions on the Astrill side.
I got same issue with yours
My OS is Windows 11 Pro, and I am using Astill VPN now.
And VScode and Cursor are not working now. but when turn off the Astill VPN, I got same issue.
I don’t know why I got this issue.
@deanrie, If solve this problem, please let me know how to fix this issue.
Thanks
FYI: In my Ubuntu VMware env, vscode and cursor are working well. but in my local side, not working.
@clean128 the solution is already up in the thread, thanks to @code_ranger for the diagnosis. The culprit is Astrill registering a Winsock LSP C:\WINDOWS\system32\ASProxy64.dll that gets injected into the process and crashes the extension host. That’s why VS Code crashes the exact same way, and why everything works in an Ubuntu VM. It’s a Windows networking issue, not a Cursor issue.
Important detail: just disabling or uninstalling the Astrill client isn’t enough. The LSP stays registered in the Winsock catalog. That’s why the crash doesn’t go away after turning off the VPN.
Things to try:
Reset the Winsock catalog. Open PowerShell or CMD as admin and run:
netsh winsock reset
Then reboot Windows. This removes the stuck LSP entries. Note that if you launch Astrill again, it may register the LSP again.
You can check what’s still in the catalog with:
netsh winsock show catalog
If Astrill adds ASProxy64.dll again after the reset and the crashes come back, this needs to be fixed on Astrill’s side. For example their split tunneling or App Filter to exclude the Cursor process, or updating or reinstalling their client.
Since VS Code behaves identically, the final fix here is on Astrill’s side. Let us know if netsh winsock reset helped. If the crash comes back, paste the output of netsh winsock show catalog and we’ll take a look at what’s registered there.
@deanrie thank you for your suggestion. This command indeed solved my problem! Now I can use plugins in Cursor with Astrill at the same time.