Couldn't create the project

Support Bug Reports
1

Tried to run Cursor (v3.18.9) today after months of inactivity. When executing a simple agent query (e.g. “write a python code to add up two numbers”) I get a "Couldn’t create the project. Please try again. " error. Trying again obviously did not help :frowning:

If I run the same exact query in the web interface instead, the error message is “Could not claim an available Origin namespace for user XXX; the “l-l”, “l-l-dev”, “l-l-code” slugs are all taken”, where XXX is my internal user id.

This happens regardless of the model used. And yes, it is a showstopper.

Had no such issues in the past, and my Cursor Pro subscription is still valid.

2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
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Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

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Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

6

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. The error message from the web app really helped.

Here’s what’s happening: on the first agent request, Cursor automatically creates a personal namespace for your account based on your profile name. Your name results in a very short identifier l-l, and the variants Cursor tries are already taken by other users, so project creation fails.

There’s a workaround that should unblock you right now:

  • Go to cursor.com and sign in.
  • Open Dashboard → Settings.
  • Claim your profile handle username. Pick something unique, like your forum nickname.
  • Go back to Cursor and retry the request.

Once the handle is set, Cursor will use it as the namespace name instead of the short version from your profile name, and creation should work.

This shouldn’t happen, and it’s not something you misconfigured. I’ve shared this with the team so the automatic setup handles short and common names better. Let me know if the workaround doesn’t work.

8

Thank you Dean for the prompt reply.

I have claimed my handle as you recommended and that fixed both the app and the web app.

Thank you as well for reporting this to the team. At least more guidance in the error message would be welcome.

Have a great day.

9

Followed these steps but i am still not able to use cursor on web getting the same issue as above, also now when I am trying to change some other handle getting a popup “Your handle cant be changed”

10

Hey, thanks for the report. Looks like in your case claiming the handle didn’t fix it, so let’s dig in. To understand what’s going on, I need a couple details:

  1. The exact error text you see on the web right now. It lists specific slugs, like "...", "...-dev", "...-code" are all taken. Please paste the full message.
  2. Which handle did you claim in Dashboard → Settings?

About “Your handle can’t be changed”, yep, once a handle is set it can’t be edited. That’s why I want to confirm what it’s currently set to. The error above should show whether Cursor is using your handle as the base for the namespace, or if it’s still using the shorter version from your profile name.

This shouldn’t happen, and it’s not something you misconfigured. Once you send those details, I’ll see what we can do and pass it to the team.