cursor.composer.textSizeScale not applied on startup — only after settings.json re-save

Support Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

The setting cursor.composer.textSizeScale in user settings.json is not applied when Cursor starts. The composer/chat text remains at default scale (1.0).

The setting only takes effect when I manually open settings.json and press Ctrl+S (save). No actual changes needed — just re-saving triggers it.

Steps to Reproduce

Add “cursor.composer.textSizeScale”: 1.15 to %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\settings.json
Close Cursor completely
Open Cursor
Observe: composer text is at default scale, not 1.15

Expected Behavior

cursor.composer.textSizeScale should be read and applied during initialization, not only on onDidChangeConfiguration event.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 2.6.19 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 224838f96445be37e3db643a163a817c15b36060
Date: 2026-03-12T04:07:27.435Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.4.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Additional Information

Workaround:

Using a workspace task (runOn: folderOpen) that overwrites settings.json with a different value and then restores the original — forcing a config change event. This confirms the setting works on change but not on cold start.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

4

Hey, this is a known issue with text size settings in the chat panel. We’re tracking it here: Chat Panel Text Size Issue.

The team is aware. Your report with the cold start details is helpful, I passed it along.

For now, besides your workaround of overwriting settings.json, you can use Ctrl+ and Ctrl- to zoom the whole UI.

Let me know if you have any questions.

5

A post was merged into an existing topic: Chat Panel Text Size Issue