Seeing this a lot in current and last versions.
Editor has crashed 5 or 6 times in last week.
Always while its almost finished writing lots of code. On reboot its lost everything from the last prompt. The code is written, but its lost from the stream and apparently llm memory that it completed the task, or how far it got. So you have to re-prompt it and it has to check every file to see what it has or hasn’t already fixed. With something like opus that can be 10 mins of work involving lots of files.
Hey, crash code 5 on macOS means the renderer process ran out of memory. This is a known issue, especially with long agent sessions that edit a lot of files.
A few things to try:
Start new chats more often. Don’t keep one long chat. When the agent edits lots of files in one session, memory usage can grow until it crashes. Close the chat and start a new one from time to time.
Check if your project folder is inside an iCloud-synced directory (Desktop, Documents). If it is, move it to a local path like ~/dev.
Try without extensions:
cursor --disable-extensions
If the crashes stop, turn extensions back on one by one to find the one causing it.
Watch memory before the next crash: Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Open Process Explorer. If the renderer goes above 3 to 4 GB, that confirms it’s an OOM. A screenshot would be really helpful.
Try disabling GPU hardware acceleration:
cursor --disable-gpu
About losing context after a crash, sadly, if the renderer crashes during streaming, the chat state isn’t fully saved. For now, the best workaround is shorter, more focused chats.
If none of that helps, I’ll need:
Logs from Help > Open Logs Folder (the main.log around the crash time)
Your list of installed extensions
Whether you’re using a VPN or proxy
The team is aware of the issue. Let me know how it goes.
its happened a couple more times since I posted this. seems pretty consistent with any multi step task now. I think opus is just way more powerful than the earlier models and the editor can’t keep up?
no extensions enabled.
”cursor --disable-gpu” where am I typing this? can’t get it to do anything anywhere i’ve tried.
”Help > Open Logs Folder” can’t find this either, you mean Process Explorer?
That’s through the roof on mem and cpu. 500% at one point, but it crashed 30 mins ago at 200%
I see the screenshots. The Renderer is at 2.5 GB, so that confirms it’s an OOM. Thanks for sending that.
About what you can’t find:
cursor --disable-gpu: you need to run this from the macOS Terminal app (Terminal or iTerm), not inside Cursor. Fully quit Cursor, open Terminal, and run:
cursor --disable-gpu
Help > Open Logs Folder: try it via the Command Palette: Cmd+Shift+P > “Open Logs Folder”. I need the main.log file from there. I’m interested in the part around the crash.
Since extensions are already disabled and it still crashes, a couple more things:
For now, the most reliable workaround is to split tasks into smaller steps. Opus generates a lot of content at once, and the renderer can’t handle it. Instead of one big request across 10+ files, do 2 to 3 files at a time and start a new chat.
Fully restart Cursor every 1 to 1,5 hours (Cmd+Q, not just Reload Window).
This is a known issue and the team is aware. Your report helps prioritize a fix. Let me know if any of this helps at least reduce how often it crashes.
my main.log only contains a few lines, since the last restart.
i’ve been using cursor for like 21 hours now, there were at least 4 crashes in this session.
obviously its super inconvenient to keep starting new chats, and forcing a powerful model to limp along. but as long as your guys know how serious an issue it is, i’ll not ■■■■■ about it any more and leave you all to fix it
