Chat input gets reversed in Detached Window

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When using the Chat as a detached/new window, the input box behaves erratically after an AI stream response. The cursor position constantly resets to index 0, causing typed text to be in reverse order, and Backspace moves to the front of the sequence. Additionally, keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+V fail (though right-click paste works).

CRITICAL FINDING / WORKAROUND: > This bug only occurs when the side chat in the main IDE window remains open. If I close the side chat in the main window, the detached chat window instantly starts working perfectly. This strongly points to a React state management / Electron multi-instance conflict where the AI stream sync triggers a race condition.

Steps to Reproduce

1.Open Cursor and make sure the side chat in the main window is open.

2.Detach/Pop out the chat into a separate new window.

3.Send a message to the AI inside the detached window.

4.Once the AI streams its response, try typing inside the detached window’s input box.

5.Result: The typed text is reversed (cursor jumps to the front), and Ctrl+V is non-functional.

6.Workaround check: Close the side chat panel in the main window, and the detached window input immediately normalizes.

Expected Behavior

The detached chat window should maintain its input focus, caret position, and keyboard shortcut event listeners, regardless of whether the main window’s side chat is open or closed.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.7.19 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.105.1
Commit: 80c653c2c3528e65016a0d304b54486084b470b0
Date: 2026-06-07T01:42:56.126Z
Layout: editor
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Additional Information

This issue is consistently reproducible across multiple OS versions and persists on the latest release.

Important Clarification on Previous “Solutions”: > I saw some earlier forum posts mentioning that this issue was “solved” by reloading the window. However, this is just a temporary illusion. Reloading the window only makes the very first message work perfectly. As soon as the agent replies (streaming finishes), the state breaks and the bug immediately appears again for all subsequent inputs.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. This is a known bug with the detached or pop-out chat window. After streaming, the caret jumps back to index 0, so text gets typed backwards and Backspace jumps to the start. It happens on Windows, macOS, and Linux, so it’s not specific to your setup.

Also thanks for calling out the side chat in the main window. That’s a really helpful detail, and I shared it with the team. It looks like the issue is a focus conflict between two inputs being open at the same time, main and detached.

While the bug is being fixed, here are some workarounds:

  • Close the side chat in the main window when you’re using the detached window. Your workaround is the most reliable.
  • Keep chat docked instead of popping it out into a separate window.
  • Some users said turning off GPU acceleration helps, so you can try that as an alternative.

I can’t share a timeline for a fix yet, but the issue is being tracked. I’ll post an update in the thread when I have one.