Cursor literally just deletes itself. It has happened probably 3 times in the last 2 months. The Cursor App on my taskbar turns into just the blank paper and says the shortcut doesn’t exist. I try searching cursor through Windows search and it’s just completely gone.
Steps to Reproduce
Install cursor > Wait a few months > Cursor deletes itself
Expected Behavior
Cursor doesn’t delete itself
Operating System
Windows 10/11
Version Information
Unknown because it’s deleted… But it was whatever the newest version was.
Hey, thanks for the report. What you’re describing is a known issue with the auto-updater on Windows, and it’s not caused by anything in your setup. During an update, the installer renames the install folder and removes the old version before the new one finishes installing. If Windows restarts or shuts down in the middle of that, or if your antivirus is holding files, the app can end up removed and the shortcuts will be broken. We’re tracking this issue.
Important: your settings and chat history are not lost. They’re stored in %APPDATA%\Cursor and %USERPROFILE%\.cursor and they survive this.
Quick recovery, often works without a full reinstall:
Check the install folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor. If Cursor.exe is missing from the root, but there’s a nearby folder with an _ suffix (staging), just copy Cursor.exe from there back into the root folder. Your shortcuts should work right away.
If that doesn’t work, do a clean reinstall:
Fully close Cursor, including the tray icon.
Delete the _ folder contents and delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor, otherwise the new installer may get stuck on broken leftovers.
Switch updates to manual: open Settings with Ctrl+,, search for update.mode, set it to manual (or start, so it only checks on launch, not on close).
Fully close Cursor before shutting down or restarting Windows.
Add %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor to Windows Defender or antivirus exclusions, this is a common trigger.
Alternative: use the system-wide installer CursorSetup-x64 and choose Install for all users during setup, admin rights needed. This issue happens less often there.
I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet, but I’ll post here if there’s an update. Let me know if the quick fix by copying Cursor.exe worked or if you had to reinstall.
Hey @GonzaloFranco, this is the same Windows auto-updater issue I mentioned above, and it’s not something in your setup. We’re tracking it.
What matters: your settings and chat history aren’t lost. They’re stored in %APPDATA%\Cursor and %USERPROFILE%\.cursor, and they survive this.
Quick recovery (often without a full reinstall):
Check %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor. If Cursor.exe is missing from the root, but there’s a nearby folder with an _ suffix (staging), just copy Cursor.exe from there back into the root. Your shortcuts should start working right away.
If that didn’t help, do a clean reinstall:
Fully close Cursor, including the tray icon.
Delete the contents of the _ folder and also delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor, otherwise the installer can get stuck on broken leftovers.
To make it happen less often (especially on a work machine):
Switch updates to manual: Ctrl+,, find update.mode, set it to manual (or start, which checks only on startup, not on close).
Fully quit Cursor before shutting down or restarting Windows.
Add %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor to Windows Defender or antivirus exclusions, this is a common trigger.
Alternative: use the system-wide installer CursorSetup-x64 and choose Install for all users (admin rights needed). It tends to happen less there.
I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet, but I’ll reply in the thread if there’s an update. Let me know if copying Cursor.exe worked, or if you had to reinstall.
Hey @Chris_Davis, circling back with an update on this thread.
We reworked the Windows updater in Cursor 3.18. Now, if an update gets interrupted by a shutdown, restart, or an antivirus that’s holding files, it can recover on the next launch instead of leaving Cursor uninstalled.
If you’re still on an older version, please update to the latest release. The most reliable way is to download the current installer from Cursor · Download and run it over your existing install. Your settings and chat history will stay in place, like I mentioned above.
Once you’re on 3.18 or newer, let me know if Cursor disappears again after updating, and which version you updated from. If everything stays in place, no need to reply.