Why does Cursor consume so much memory? What are its system requirements?
Launch Cursor. That’s all.
MacOS constantly notifies me that there is insufficient memory for the system to operate.
MacOS
Version: 2.0.43
Yes - Cursor is unusable
arun
October 31, 2025, 2:31pm
2
Hey @Joseph_Gonzales , that sounds problematic - try moving the project folder to a different location and opening it again.
The original location can sometimes trigger high memory usage for a variety of reasons (like a big chat history ); moving it forces Cursor to treat it as a new project.
Let me know if that helps.
Hey, thanks for the report.
Before we dig in, there’s a known macOS issue where Activity Monitor can show incorrect RAM values. Please verify actual memory usage:
Open Activity Monitor (native macOS app)
Go to the Memory tab at the bottom, this shows accurate system-wide memory
Open the Process Explorer (Cmd+Shift+P → “Open Process Explorer”)
Also check:
Open Cursor with no project loaded, does memory stay high?
Run cursor --disable-extensions from Terminal to rule out extension issues
Try moving or renaming the project folder, large chat histories can cause memory spikes
Let me know what you find and we’ll continue the investigation!
