Cursor IDE through SSH is lagging

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Hi @pedro_228,

Thank you for the detailed report, and I appreciate the troubleshooting you’ve already done – I can see you’ve tried both the MS and Anysphere Remote SSH extensions, including the v1.0.17 downgrade that has helped some users. The fact that none of these made a difference is useful signal.

What you’re experiencing is a known performance issue with the extension host over SSH connections, particularly on larger workspaces. Our engineering team is aware of this and actively working on improvements.

Since the extension version swap didn’t help in your case, here are a few other things worth trying:

  1. Open a smaller sub-directory – Instead of opening the root of your project, try opening just the specific directory you’re actively working in. This reduces the amount of workspace the extension host needs to process, and is the most impactful workaround for larger projects.

  2. Disable MCP servers on the remote – If you have any MCP servers configured (in .cursor/mcp.json or Cursor Settings > MCP), try removing them temporarily. The MCP extension activation over SSH can add significant load to the extension host.

  3. Check extension activation times – Run Developer: Show Running Extensions from the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P) to see if any extensions are taking unusually long to activate. Disabling heavy extensions on the remote side may help.

  4. Add generated folders to .cursorignore – If your project has directories like node_modules, dist, build, or other generated content, adding them to a .cursorignore file at your project root can reduce the load.

You may also find this related thread helpful: Remote SSH freezes immediately (terminal + Open Folder hang)

If the issue persists after trying these steps, could you share:

  • The output from Developer: Show Running Extensions (to see extension activation times)

  • The output from Cursor Settings > Network > Run Diagnostics