# Cursor Agent Unusable for Running Commands **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Tags:** terminal, macos, crashes\ **Created:** [February 3, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754 "2026-02-03T21:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![William\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/william_finch/32/94868_2.png) [@William\_Finch](https://forum.cursor.com/u/William_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/1 "2026-02-03T21:30:39Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug When starting a Cursor agent on macOS, Cursor attempts to execute /opt/homebrew/share/zsh, which is a Homebrew-managed data directory, not an executable shell. This results in an EACCES error and prevents the agent from starting. The path cannot be overridden via any Cursor setting. ### Steps to Reproduce Open the cursor agent and view the debug logs. ### Expected Behavior The agent should use a valid zsh path or the value I set, rather than the zsh data directory. Or spawn a fish shell, as this is my preferred terminal. ### Screenshots / Screen Recordings ![Screenshot 2026-02-03 at 1.29.29 PM.png](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/8/4/843a34899ac4ba243b56dd9680e59e62e9210438.png) ### Operating System MacOS ### Version Information Version: 2.4.28 VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: f3f5cec40024283013878b50c4f9be4002e0b580 Date: 2026-02-03T00:56:18.293Z (20 hrs ago) Build Type: Stable Release Track: Default Electron: 39.2.7 Chromium: 142.0.7444.235 Node.js: 22.21.1 V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0 OS: Darwin arm64 25.2.0 ### Does this stop you from using Cursor Yes - Cursor is unusable ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/3 "2026-02-04T04:39:57Z")
Hey, thanks for the detailed report. I can see an EACCES in DevTools for `/opt/homebrew/share/zsh`. This is a known issue in v2.4.x when fish is set as your default shell. Cursor detects the shell path incorrectly and tries to launch the Homebrew data directory instead of the real executable. The team is aware (bug is logged), but there’s no fix yet. Workaround (temporary): Settings \> Cursor Settings \> Agents \> Legacy Terminal: turn it on and restart Cursor. This should make the agent use the old terminal logic, which avoids the bad shell path resolution. If Legacy Terminal doesn’t help, the only option is to roll back to v2.3.34: - Download it from [Download · Cursor](http://cursor.com/download) (pick specific version) - Fully quit Cursor before installing One caveat: v2.3.34 may be incompatible with chats created in v2.4.x. Let me know if Legacy Terminal helped or if you had to roll back. ---
**Author:** ![William\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/william_finch/32/94868_2.png) [@William\_Finch](https://forum.cursor.com/u/William_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/4 "2026-02-07T16:23:10Z")
> [@deanrie](#): > > Settings \> Cursor Settings \> Agents \> Legacy Terminal: turn it on and restart Cursor. @deanrie Thanks for the reply. The legacy terminal also does not work for me. When I switch to this setting, the cursor agent will run a command, and no output is returned. It won’t hang; it will just run the command, which does nothing, and move on. I can send a screenshot if you like. ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/5 "2026-02-07T16:48:39Z")
Thanks for the info that Legacy Terminal doesn’t help either. Yeah, please send a screenshot. I want to understand what “no output” looks like on your side. Right now the only reliable workaround is rolling back to v2.3.34: - Download it from [Download · Cursor](http://cursor.com/download) (pick a specific version) - Fully close Cursor before installing - Note: chats created in 2.4.x might not open in 2.3.x The team is aware of an issue with shell path detection when using fish. ---
**Author:** ![William\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/william_finch/32/94868_2.png) [@William\_Finch](https://forum.cursor.com/u/William_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/6 "2026-02-10T00:17:17Z")
@deanrie This is my output when using the legacy terminal with Cursor 2.4.31. The command does not hang like in non-legacy mode, but it fails to run and produce any output for me. ![Screenshot 2026-02-09 at 4.16.02 PM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/4/7/47d88a2d05ca86c8b45cd80aa22ba05fb774efc1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/7 "2026-02-10T06:49:14Z")
Thanks for the screenshot. Yeah, it’s the same bug with shell path detection, just in legacy mode it shows up as empty output instead of EACCES. There’s one more workaround worth trying before rolling back. Try setting the shell path explicitly: 1. Open Settings `CMD + ,` and search for `terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx` 2. Also search for `terminal.integrated.profiles.osx` and add a fish profile with the full path: ```json "terminal.integrated.profiles.osx": { "fish": { "path": "/opt/homebrew/bin/fish" } }, "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx": "fish" ``` 1. Restart Cursor If that doesn’t help, rolling back to v2.3.34 is still the only working option. You can download it here: [Download · Cursor](https://cursor.com/download) (pick a specific version). Fully quit Cursor before installing. The team is aware of this fish and zsh path detection bug. Your report helps us prioritize it. Let me know if the profile setting worked. ---
**Author:** ![William\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/william_finch/32/94868_2.png) [@William\_Finch](https://forum.cursor.com/u/William_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/8 "2026-02-10T17:02:29Z")
Thanks for the reply. When I run this in the legacy shell with the suggested settings, I am still seeing failed and no output. I believe the output it’s giving me is from other cursor tools that do not rely on the terminal. ![Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 9.05.19 AM](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/3/a/3a50c4e02146a6e83705e85b9e774c7a9c43096a.png) ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/9 "2026-02-10T17:40:28Z")
Thanks for testing the latest workaround and sending the screenshot. I can see that even with an explicit fish path in the command settings, the commands still fail. This confirms the bug is deeper than just an incorrect shell path. The issue is with how v2.4.x detects and initializes the terminal with a fish/Homebrew setup. Right now, the only working option is to roll back to v2.3.34. I know that’s inconvenient, but in v2.3.x the Legacy Terminal worked fine for you (based on your post in the January thread). Let me know if everything works after the rollback, or if you run into any chat compatibility issues. ---
**Author:** ![William\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/william_finch/32/94868_2.png) [@William\_Finch](https://forum.cursor.com/u/William_Finch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/10 "2026-02-10T19:46:40Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![bladerunner2020](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/bladerunner2020/32/29145_2.png) [@bladerunner2020](https://forum.cursor.com/u/bladerunner2020)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/11 "2026-02-10T20:28:14Z")
> [@deanrie](#): > > One caveat: v2.3.34 may be incompatible with chats created in v2.4.x. I believe that have the same issue (Cursor can’t execute git command) and I am planning to rollback to older version. The caveat you mentioned what does this mean for me? ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/12 "2026-02-11T08:25:44Z")
When rolling back from v2.4.x to v2.3.x, chats that were created in v2.4.x may not open or may display incorrectly in v2.3.x. The storage format changed between versions. This means you’ll lose access to those specific chats, so please export any important chats via the chat menu. Chats created before v2.4.x should work normally. ---
**Author:** ![bladerunner2020](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/bladerunner2020/32/29145_2.png) [@bladerunner2020](https://forum.cursor.com/u/bladerunner2020)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 10:43am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/13 "2026-02-12T10:43:20Z")
Thanks for the explanation. I think I could cope with losing the chat content. In the current version on auto mode: - Are the rules bound to a project folder working, or not? - Can I specify rules manually? ---
**Author:** ![Gerbuuun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Gerbuuun](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Gerbuuun)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/14 "2026-02-22T21:22:42Z")
Has this already been fixed? I keep getting prompts to update Cursor but I’m stuck on v2.3 because of this ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/system/32/99069_2.png) [@system](https://forum.cursor.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-agent-unusable-for-running-commands/150754/15 "2026-03-16T21:22:44Z")
Closed on March 16, 2026, 9:22pm UTC This topic was automatically closed 22 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.