Cursor hangs when terminal output is attached to chat in WSL

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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I’m using Cursor on Windows with a WSL Ubuntu workspace. When I select terminal output and use “Add to Chat,” the agent gets stuck on “Planning next move” or “Taking longer than expected” and never responds.

Once a conversation is affected, even a simple follow-up like “Hi” can hang. New chats without terminal attachments work normally, including reading files and executing tasks.

Environment:

  • Cursor: 3.21.18, stable, Windows user installation
  • Commit: c4730f7d93d787d9ab120af715999f0345ee5bc0
  • Build date: September 22, 2026
  • Remote environment: WSL Ubuntu

What I’ve tried:

  • Switching models
  • Reinstalling Cursor
  • Changing HTTP compatibility settings

None resolved the affected chats.

Local traces show the failing requests stall at gatherTerminalSelections. Subsequent retries sometimes stall at abortChatAndWaitForFinish. The affected messages retain terminal-selection references, even when the new message is just a greeting.

Is this a known Windows/WSL terminal-attachment issue? Is there a fixed version or a supported way to remove retained terminal attachments without losing the conversation history?

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Cursor on Windows and connect to a WSL Ubuntu workspace.
  2. Open an integrated terminal and run a command that produces output.
  3. Select some terminal output and click “Add to Chat.”
  4. Send a message asking the agent to explain the attached output.
  5. The agent gets stuck on “Planning next move” or “Taking longer than expected.”
  6. Stop the request and send a simple follow-up, such as “Hi.” The affected chat may continue hanging.
  7. For comparison, open a new chat without terminal attachments and send “Hi”—this works in my tests.

Expected: The agent processes the attachment and responds, or shows an actionable error.

Actual: The request hangs indefinitely.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

  • Cursor: 3.21.18, stable, Windows user installation
    • Commit: c4730f7d93d787d9ab120af715999f0345ee5bc0
    • Build date: September 22, 2026
    • Remote environment: WSL Ubuntu

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

7

Hey @Armin_Taheri, thanks for the report and the trace details.

What you’re seeing isn’t intended, and it isn’t caused by anything in your setup. This is an issue we’re tracking, and I’ve added your report to it. There isn’t a fix in the current release yet.

Why the chat stays stuck: a message that hangs never reaches our servers, so every new message in that chat processes it again, terminal attachment included. That’s why even “Hi” hangs there.

There isn’t a supported way yet to remove the attachment from that chat in place. For now:

  • Start a new chat for that work. As you found, chats without the terminal attachment work normally.
  • Paste terminal output into your message as plain text instead of using Add to Chat.

If a window hangs even without an attachment, run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette and wait until the WSL connection has fully loaded before sending. If that doesn’t clear it, fully quit Cursor, run wsl --shutdown in PowerShell (this stops everything running in WSL, so save your work first), then reopen.

I’ll post here when there’s an update.

8

Thanks, Kevin. Please update us here!

Also, I just realized that, for example, in an older version like 3.20.17 (user setup), the issue isn’t there, but 3.21.18 is the one that has this issue..

Thanks,

Armin