Cmd-click on Claude Code Update(file) opens file:// links externally instead of in Cursor editor

[said1]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Cursor IDE → Terminal → Claude Code CLI → Chat output link handling (Update(filepath))

When Claude Code emits an Update(filepath) after editing a file, the rendered link uses a file:// URI (e.g. file:///Users/…/file.md).

Cmd-clicking this link opens the file in the macOS default external editor (Xcode) instead of opening it inside Cursor’s editor.

In contrast, file paths rendered directly in Claude chat output (without file://) correctly open inside the Cursor editor.

This indicates inconsistent link normalization between chat output and Update output.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a project workspace in Cursor.
2. Open the integrated terminal and run Claude Code.
3. Ask Claude to list or link any .md file → cmd-click opens correctly in Cursor.
4. Ask Claude to make an edit to a .md file so it emits Update(path/to/file.md).
5. Cmd-click the file path shown in the Update output.

Expected Behavior

Cmd+clicking any file path referring to a file within the current workspace, including those shown in Update(filepath), should open the file inside Cursor’s editor, consistent with normal chat output links.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Cursor Version: 2.4.36
Claude Code Version: v2.1.42 (Opus 4.6)

Additional Information

I know that this issue is not relevant to Cursor’s primary feature set. I mostly use Claude Code for writing code, but whatever CLI that I use, I still want to use it in Cursor as I regularly make use of other models, run smaller tasks on the side, or larger project-wide exploration & documentation tasks in parallel, even use it for writing copy. So this issue is throwing my workflow off. It started happening probably ~15-20 days ago, and it worked well before that.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and screenshots.

Confirmed, this is a bug in how the terminal handles file:// URIs. Cursor is sending file:// links to the system handler instead of opening workspace files in the editor. The team is aware of the file:// URI handling bug, but there’s no timeline yet. Your report helps with prioritization.

For now, the workaround is to use Cmd+P (Quick Open) to navigate to the file instead of clicking the link in the Update output.

Let me know if anything else comes up.