Constant Agent Time Out and need to Reload Window

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Concerns the agents window
I constantly have to reload the agents window because I get ‘Agent Execution Timed Out’
The reload closes all terminals, so that also means I have to reload processes.
This happens too often, every hour or so when I work. It makes the experience almost unbearable.

Steps to Reproduce

Not sure how to reproduce the bug, but here is a request id that timed out:
bf7fe822-a07c-4102-b5ce-b105f2f4cd3b

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.4.20 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 0cf8b06883f54e26bb4f0fb8647c9500ccb43310
Date: 2026-05-15T02:26:10.351Z
Layout: glass
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
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

bf7fe822-a07c-4102-b5ce-b105f2f4cd3b

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

7

This is a known bug that our engineering team is actively working on. The “Agent Execution Timed Out” error happens when a key internal process doesn’t start up in time, and it disproportionately affects Windows users.

A few things that may help reduce the frequency while a fix is in progress:

  1. Full quit and restart (not just Reload Window) — close Cursor entirely, then relaunch. This gives the internal process a clean start

  2. Restart Extension Host — press Ctrl+Shift+P, type Developer: Restart Extension Host, and run it. This is lighter than a full reload and keeps your terminals alive

  3. Reduce installed extensions — heavy or slow-starting extensions can delay the internal startup. Try disabling non-essential ones temporarily to see if the timeout frequency decreases

  4. Check antivirus/security software — if you’re running endpoint protection or antivirus (like Avast, Windows Defender with real-time scanning, etc.), try adding Cursor to its exclusion list. AV scanning of Cursor processes during startup is a confirmed trigger for this timeout

You may also find this related thread helpful, where other users have reported the same issue: Persistent “Extension Host Timeout” & Agent Execution Hang

We know the “Reload Window kills all terminals” part makes this especially disruptive. That’s part of what the engineering fix aims to address.

Let us know if any of the above helps, or if the issue persists after trying them.

8

Adding Cursor to the exclusion list, in my case to Windows Defender, helped a lot. Havent seen the error since then actually.