Chat fails with misleading "Connection Error" when no workspace folder is open

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

After the latest update, sending a message in Chat fails when Cursor is opened without a workspace folder (“NO FOLDER OPENED” state). Instead of responding or showing a clear explanation, Cursor displays a generic “Connection Error” toast: “Connection failed. Please try again, or contact support if the issue persists.” This is misleading because the failure appears to be tied to the missing workspace folder, not an actual network or server connection problem. The issue occurs in Ask/Auto chat mode, where a user may only want general Q&A without any project context.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Launch Cursor IDE without opening a folder (Explorer shows “NO FOLDER OPENED”).
  2. Open Chat (e.g., New Agent / chat panel).
  3. Type a message (e.g., “test”) and submit it.
  4. Observe the “Connection Error” notification instead of a chat response.

Expected Behavior

Chat in Ask mode should work without an open workspace folder for general questions that do not require codebase context. If a folder is genuinely required for the selected mode, Cursor should show a specific, actionable message (e.g., “Open a folder to use Chat”) rather than a generic connection failure error.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.9.8 (system setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.105.1
Commit: 4aa8ff1b7877ed7bd01bcba308698f71a6735380
Date: 2026-06-25T01:39:30.490Z
Layout: editor
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

Request ID: 48a62461-b64e-488d-b696-2a490304d097
No resource accessor found for composer: 1836151d-18eb-4477-b14b-fdeb55380d60
Error: No resource accessor found for composer: 1836151d-18eb-4477-b14b-fdeb55380d60
at Tkh.streamFromAgentBackend (vscode-file://vscode-app/c:/Program%20Files/cursor/resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:24488:5851)
at Tkh.getAgentStreamResponse (vscode-file://vscode-app/c:/Program%20Files/cursor/resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:24488:22899)
at IRe.submitChatMaybeAbortCurrent (vscode-file://vscode-app/c:/Program%20Files/cursor/resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:12125:736)
at async Object.wu [as onSubmit] (vscode-file://vscode-app/c:/Program%20Files/cursor/resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:23531:34996)
at async vscode-file://vscode-app/c:/Program%20Files/cursor/resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:21428:104651

Additional Information

  • Regression after the latest Cursor update; chat worked previously without an open folder.
  • Workaround: open any folder in the workspace, then chat works again.
  • The error message suggests a network/server issue, which sends users down the wrong troubleshooting path.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. The stack trace and repro really helped.

This is a known bug. If you launch Cursor with no folder opened NO FOLDER OPENED, sending a message in Chat fails with a client-side error No resource accessor found for composer, and you only see a generic Connection failed toast. So it is not a network issue, and yeah, the error message is misleading. You diagnosed it correctly.

You already found the workaround. Open any folder, and then Chat works normally.

I reported the issue internally and added your case Windows plus 3.9.8. I can’t share an exact fix timeline yet. If I get an update, I’ll reply in the thread.