Cursor-ide-browser connected but exposes zero tools (browser_tabs/browser_navigate tool not found)

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Post
After updating to Cursor 3.1.17 on Windows, the built-in browser MCP seems broken.

Issue
Requests like:

Open Sign in to your account in Cursor’s internal browser
fail because the browser tools are not available at runtime.

The agent reports errors like:

Tool cursor-ide-browser-browser_tabs not found
Tool cursor-ide-browser-browser_navigate not found
What’s strange
From logs, cursor-ide-browser looks connected, but it exposes zero tools.

I see log lines like:

toolCount=0
Server “cursor-ide-browser” excluded from write: tools=0 … status=connected
Divergence detected: server missing from filesystem
Also, MCP allowlist logs show browser_tabs / browser_navigate as allowed, so this does not look like a permission block.

What I tried
Restarted Cursor
Rebooted Windows
Opened a fresh workspace
Opened multiple new Cursor windows
Retried in new chats
Same result everywhere.

Environment
Cursor 3.1.17
Windows 11
This looks like a regression or browser MCP runtime registration issue after update.

If needed, I can share the relevant log snippets.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Cursor 3.1.17 on Windows 11.
  2. Open any workspace, including a completely fresh/new project.
  3. Start a new agent chat.
  4. Ask Cursor to open a URL in the internal browser, for example:
    “Open Sign in to your account in Cursor’s internal browser”
  5. Cursor attempts to use the internal browser MCP tools.
  6. The request fails because browser MCP tools are missing at runtime.

I reproduced this in:

  • the original workspace
  • a brand new workspace/project
  • multiple new Cursor windows
  • fresh chats after rebooting Windows

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

IDE:
Cursor
Version:
3.1.17
OS:
Windows 11
Notes:
The issue started after updating Cursor. The problem is reproducible across multiple windows and new workspaces.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. The symptoms match a known pattern where cursor-ide-browser shows as connected, but the tools get filtered out before they reach the agent.

Try this workaround:

  1. Open Settings > Tools & MCP > Browser Automation.
  2. Make sure Browser Tab is selected and enabled in the dropdown.
  3. Close the current chat and start a new one. The tools load when the session starts.

If that doesn’t help, please send:

  • The Request ID from the failed call (chat context menu in the top right > Copy Request ID).
  • Any errors from Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console when you try to use the browser.

Related threads with the same symptom for context: Browser MCP Tools Not Available and Mcp browser control totally broken (again).

This is a known issue on our side and we’re tracking it. No exact ETA for a fix yet. Let me know if the workaround helped.

6

Workaround doesn’t work.
Please refer to below.

Issue

Browser MCP tools (cursor-ide-browser) are not available to the agent.

  • Browser Automation shows “Connected to Browser Tab” in Settings > Tools
  • But agent cannot access any browser tools (browser_tabs, browser_navigate, etc.)
  • Error: "Tool cursor-ide-browser-browser_tabs not found, available tools: "
  • This works fine on an older version of Cursor.

Environment

  • OS: Windows 10 (10.0.26100)
  • Cursor Version: 3.1.17 (fce1e9ab)
  • It works with previous version

Request ID

55c12d2f-40bb-4889-899f-cd6b7db0ae53

Console Errors

[transport] Connect error in unary AI connect ConnectError: [invalid_argument] Error
at t (workbench.desktop.main.js:38300:63629)
at async Object.listBackgroundComposers (workbench.desktop.main.js:28740:4386)
at async N7d.refresh (workbench.desktop.main.js:44707:11735)
[background_composer] CloudAgentRepository: Failed to fetch ConnectError: [invalid_argument] Error
at t (workbench.desktop.main.js:38300:63629)
at async Object.listBackgroundComposers (workbench.desktop.main.js:28740:4386)
at async N7d.refresh (workbench.desktop.main.js:44707:11735)

7

Thanks for the Request ID and the details. From the console, it looks like the attached trace is from listBackgroundComposers (a background request from cloud agents, not the browser), so it’s probably not related to the issue.

To diagnose this more accurately, can you share:

  1. MCP Logs: View > Output, then in the dropdown on the right select MCP Logs or cursor-ide-browser, and copy the last 50 to 100 lines (especially the part where you open a new chat and try to use the browser).
  2. The Request ID from the browser call attempt: open a chat, ask the agent to open a URL, and after it fails go to the top right of the chat > Copy Request ID.

A couple things to try in the meantime:

  • In Settings > Tools & MCP, find cursor-ide-browser, turn the toggle off, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. Then open a new chat (don’t reload the window).
  • If you can, temporarily roll back to the previous version and confirm it works there. This helps confirm it’s a regression in 3.1.17.

Net-net: yeah, this looks like a regression in 3.1.17. We’re seeing the status=connected, tools=0 pattern for other users too. We’re tracking it on our side, but I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet. The logs and a clean Request ID will help us move faster.

8
  1. MCP Logs: View > Output, then in the dropdown on the right select MCP Logs or cursor-ide-browser, and copy the last 50 to 100 lines (especially the part where you open a new chat and try to use the browser).

2026-04-24 10:19:37.204 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:37.205 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:37.212 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:37.212 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:39.151 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:39.151 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:39.155 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:19:39.155 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:20:09.875 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:20:09.875 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:20:09.878 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:20:09.878 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:38.796 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:38.797 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:38.800 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:38.800 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:46.494 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-app-control (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-app-control”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“create_project”,“move_agent_to_root”],“extraTools”:}
2026-04-24 10:22:46.494 [warning] [MCPService] Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) undefined {“catalogSurface”:“disk”,“serverIdentifier”:“cursor-ide-browser”,“serverType”:“streamableHttp”,“missingTools”:[“browser_click”,“browser_console_messages”,“browser_drag”,“browser_fill”,“browser_fill_form”,“browser_get_bounding_box”,“browser_handle_dialog”,“browser_highlight”,“browser_hover”,“browser_lock”],“extraTools”:}

  1. The Request ID from the browser call attempt: open a chat, ask the agent to open a URL, and after it fails go to the top right of the chat > Copy Request ID. → failed
    f4468eb7-905f-4ad7-8878-4d5d21b4b0e6

  2. In Settings > Tools & MCP, find cursor-ide-browser, turn the toggle off, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. Then open a new chat (don’t reload the window) → failed

  3. If you can, temporarily roll back to the previous version and confirm it works there. This helps confirm it’s a regression in 3.1.17. → it worked with 3.1.15

9

Thanks, that’s enough to confirm it’s a regression. It works on 3.1.15, but not on 3.1.17, and the Catalog freshness mismatch for cursor-ide-browser (disk) logs with a non-empty missingTools confirm that the disk catalog isn’t picking up tools from the provider, even though the server itself shows connected. This is a bug on our side.

I’ve filed an internal report with all the context, including logs, Request ID f4468eb7-905f-4ad7-8878-4d5d21b4b0e6, and the fact that 3.1.15 works. I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet. Once I have an update, I’ll reply in this thread.

As a temporary workaround, you can stay on 3.1.15 since it’s stable. If you need a link to the older build, let me know and I’ll send it over.