Close button (X) should minimize to system tray instead of quitting — Windows Agents Window / IDE

Ideas Feature Requests
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1

Feature request for product/service

Cursor IDE

Describe the request

Problem

On Windows, clicking the window X fully closes Cursor (including the Agents Window). Apps like Discord, Slack, and many messengers treat X as “sleep to tray” and stay running in the background. Closing Cursor when I only meant to dismiss the window kills live agent sessions and forces a full relaunch.

Request

Add a setting (opt-in is fine) such as:

  • “Closing the window minimizes to the system tray”
    or
  • “Minimize to tray on close”

Behavior:

  1. Clicking X hides Cursor to the system tray (process stays alive; agents/chat state preserved).
  2. Tray icon click / double-click restores the window.
  3. Explicit File → Exit / Quit still fully quits.
  4. Applies to both the main IDE window and the Agents Window.

Why it matters

  • Matches expected desktop UX for always-on agent tools.
  • Avoids losing in-flight agent chats when the user only meant to get the window out of the way.
  • Reduces accidental full quit on Windows.

Environment

  • OS: Windows 11
  • Product: Cursor IDE + Agents Window
  • Current behavior: X = quit window (no close-to-tray setting in settings.json)

Workaround today

Use the minimize button (−) or Win+Down. There is no native close-to-tray option.

Related but different ask: Hide to System Tray (that thread is about hiding from the taskbar entirely).

Thanks.

Operating System (if it applies)

Windows 10/11

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed feature request.

We don’t have a full X minimizes to tray behavior yet, but there’s already a partial workaround. Turn on the Show Cursor in system tray setting, it’s enabled by default. After that, clicking the system tray icon will hide and restore the window, while the Cursor process and any running agents stay alive in the background. So the hide window without killing the session behavior already works, it’s just not wired to the X button yet.

An opt-in toggle for the X button, like in Discord or Slack, makes sense. I’ve logged the request. Votes in this thread help us gauge demand, so if any other user needs this, please ask them to drop in and upvote.

Related thread for reference: Hide to System Tray it’s about fully hiding from the taskbar, so it’s a slightly different use case.