Composer lost the ability to run commands

Bug Report
1

All was fine for 5 days, then suddenly, composer started pretending to run commands (instead of for real) and showing me simulated outputs.

I tried to get it to go back to how it once worked, but now it is asking me how to do that.

sim_issue
sim_issue540×644 21.1 KB

I’m on Windows 10:

Version: 0.45.11
VSCode Version: 1.96.2
Commit: f5f18731406b73244e0558ee7716d77c8096d150
Date: 2025-02-07T09:43:58.555Z
Electron: 32.2.6
Chromium: 128.0.6613.186
Node.js: 20.18.1
V8: 12.8.374.38-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.17763

:no_entry_sign: Tell us if the issue stops you from using Cursor.
Yes - I’m stuck now - all the helpful commands it was running for me no longer execute.

2

For Cursor to run commands for you, you need to be in Composer, not Chat, and in agent mode.

Based on your screenshot, I can’t tell. Can you confirm you’re in agent mode in Composer, and try again fresh in a new chat?

Maybe just say “Create a new directory for me called /new-directory using terminal”.

3

Hey, does this also happen in a new Composer session? Also, let me know which model you’re using.

4

Yes - agent mode was the cause. The problem is actually a UI bug :-

notworking
notworking544×106 2.51 KB

The word “normal” shows up, and cannot be clicked, and doesn’t tell you anything about how to get it back into agent mode - which turns out is impossible. You actually need to start a whole new chat/composer session (only then does the option to change to agent mode show up) and discard all your accidental “normal mode” work.

This comment is intended to be helpful to everyone else who might land here using google, and as a constructive suggestion to the Cursor team about a new-user experience they might not be aware of. It’s not intended to be rude or critical.