Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?
Cursor IDE
Describe the Bug
Cursor Markdown Rendering & Formatting Bug Reports
Bug Report #1: Mermaid Diagrams Not Rendering in Preview Mode
Environment:
- OS: macOS 25.1.0 (Darwin)
- Cursor Version: [Current version]
- File Type: Markdown (.md)
Description:
Mermaid diagram code blocks are not rendering as visual diagrams in Cursor’s markdown preview mode. Instead, the raw mermaid syntax is displayed as plain text.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Create or open a markdown file in Cursor
- Add a mermaid code block with valid syntax:
```mermaid graph TB A[Start] --> B[Process] B --> C[End] ``` - Switch to preview mode (Cmd+Shift+V or preview button)
- Observe the output
Expected Behavior:
The mermaid code block should render as a visual diagram/flowchart in preview mode, similar to how GitHub, GitLab, and other modern markdown viewers render mermaid diagrams.
Actual Behavior:
The raw mermaid syntax is displayed as plain text within a code block. No visual diagram is generated.
Example Code:
graph TB
kVersionH[kVersion.h]
pythonGen[Python Generator]
kVersionH -->|Preprocessor| pythonGen
subgraph bit32opt [32-bit Optional]
v1XML[version.xml<br/>v1.x]
v2XML[version2.xml<br/>v2.x]
end
pythonGen -->|optional| v1XML
pythonGen -->|optional| v2XML
Impact:
- High - Mermaid is a widely-adopted standard for diagram-as-code
- Reduces documentation quality when working within Cursor
- Forces users to use external tools (mermaid.live, GitHub) to visualize diagrams
- Breaks parity with other modern markdown editors
Workarounds:
- Copy/paste mermaid code to https://mermaid.live for rendering
- View markdown files on GitHub/GitLab
- Export diagrams as images and embed them
- Use ASCII art diagrams instead
Feature Request:
Add native mermaid rendering support to Cursor’s markdown preview, similar to VSCode extensions like “Markdown Preview Mermaid Support” or built-in support in GitHub/GitLab.
Bug Report #2: Markdown Tables Auto-Collapsing on Save
Environment:
- OS: macOS 25.1.0 (Darwin)
- Cursor Version: [Current version]
- File Type: Markdown (.md)
Description:
Properly formatted markdown tables are automatically collapsed into a single line when the file is saved, making them unreadable in both edit mode and preview mode. This appears to be caused by an auto-formatter or linter running on save.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Create or open a markdown file in Cursor
- Add a properly formatted markdown table:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | |----------|----------|----------| | Data A | Data B | Data C | | Data D | Data E | Data F | - Save the file (Cmd+S)
- Observe the file contents after save
Expected Behavior:
The markdown table should remain on multiple lines with proper formatting, preserving readability in both edit and preview modes.
Actual Behavior:
The entire table is collapsed into a single line:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 ||----------|----------|----------|| Data A | Data B | Data C || Data D | Data E | Data F |
This makes the table:
- Completely unreadable in edit mode
- Improperly rendered in preview mode (appears as single row or malformed)
- Impossible to maintain or update
Reproducibility:
- 100% reproducible
- Occurs consistently across multiple markdown files
- Affects both simple and complex tables
- Even HTML tables get partially collapsed (opening tag merged with content)
Example - Before Save:
| Build Configuration | Published Editions | Version Files |
|---------------------|-------------------|---------------|
| **Baseline** | 2 editions | 1 file |
| **Maximum** | 8 editions | 5 files |
Example - After Save:
| Build Configuration | Published Editions | Version Files ||---------------------|-------------------|---------------|| **Baseline** | 2 editions | 1 file || **Maximum** | 8 editions | 5 files |
Impact:
- Critical - Makes markdown tables completely unusable
- Destroys readability and maintainability of documentation
- Forces workarounds like using HTML tables or external formatting
- Breaks standard markdown syntax
- Likely caused by overly aggressive formatter/linter
Suspected Cause:
One of the following may be causing this behavior:
- Built-in Cursor markdown formatter running on save
- Prettier or similar formatter with aggressive settings
- Markdown linter with incorrect table formatting rules
- Auto-save conflict causing line collapse
Workarounds:
- Use HTML
<table>elements instead of markdown tables - Disable auto-format on save (if possible)
- Use external markdown editors for table-heavy documents
- Manually re-format after every save (not sustainable)
Feature Request / Fix Needed:
- Identify and fix the formatter/linter causing table collapse
- Add settings to control markdown formatting behavior
- Respect standard markdown table syntax
- Add option to disable auto-formatting for specific file types or sections
- Follow Prettier/CommonMark standards for markdown table formatting
Additional Notes:
This issue also affects other markdown formatting:
- Spacing between sections gets collapsed (e.g.,
content---instead ofcontent\n\n---) - Multiple blank lines are sometimes removed
- May be related to a “compact” or “minify” setting being enabled
System Information
Operating System: macOS 25.1.0 (Darwin)
Shell: /bin/bash
Project Type: Multi-root workspace with C++/Qt and Python code
File Encoding: UTF-8
Logs/Additional Information
If logs are available showing the formatter/linter being executed on save, they would be helpful for debugging.
Priority
- Bug #1 (Mermaid): Medium-High - Feature gap, workarounds exist
- Bug #2 (Tables): Critical - Actively breaks existing functionality, no reliable workaround
Report Generated: December 28, 2025
Steps to Reproduce
Bug Report #1: Mermaid Diagrams Not Rendering in Preview Mode
Create or open a markdown file in Cursor
Add a mermaid code block with valid syntax:
graph TB
A[Start] --> B[Process]
B --> C[End]
Switch to preview mode (Cmd+Shift+V or preview button)
Observe the output
Bug Report #2: Markdown Tables Auto-Collapsing on Save
Create or open a markdown file in Cursor
Add a properly formatted markdown table:
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Data A | Data B | Data C |
| Data D | Data E | Data F |
| Save the file (Cmd+S) | ||
| Observe the file contents after save |
Expected Behavior
they look good
Operating System
MacOS
Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)
Version: 2.2.44 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 20adc1003928b0f1b99305dbaf845656ff81f5d0
For AI issues: which model did you use?
n/a
Does this stop you from using Cursor
No - Cursor works, but with this issue