Cursor on macOS consuming massive memory (40GB+) → “Your system has run out of application memory”

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1

Hi everyone,

I’m seeing extremely high memory usage from Cursor on macOS. During normal usage, Cursor’s memory consumption grows over time and can spike to ~43.48 GB (Activity Monitor), eventually triggering the macOS warning:

“Your system has run out of application memory”

At that point, the machine becomes unstable and I have to quit apps / restart Cursor to recover.

What I’m seeing

Cursor memory steadily increases during a long session

It gets worse with longer chat/agent workflows

Eventually macOS throws the out-of-memory warning

Cursor becomes sluggish/unresponsive

Steps to reproduce (approx.)

Open Cursor IDE

Open a project/workspace

Use Chat / Agent for a longer period (long conversation)

(Optional) Have Cursor read project files / directory context

Keep interacting → memory usage keeps growing

Actual result

Cursor reaches 40GB+ RAM usage (screenshot shows ~43.48GB)

macOS shows out-of-application-memory warning

Expected result

Cursor should not keep growing memory usage indefinitely.
It would be great if:

old parts of long chat history are not kept fully rendered in memory

file/project context is unloaded after being processed

Environment

OS: macOS (Apple Silicon) / Mac M4 Air RAM 16 SSD 256G

Other apps open: Chrome, Warp, Slack/Notion (Cursor is still the biggest memory consumer)

Questions

Is this a known issue on macOS?

Any recommended workarounds? (e.g., rotate chats, disable extensions, reset workspace index, etc.)

Any logs I should capture (Developer Tools console / Process Explorer)?

Thanks!

2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Cursor IDE
  • Cursor CLI
  • Background Agent (GitHub, Slack, Web, Linear)
  • BugBot
  • Somewhere else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. …
  2. …
  3. …

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

4

Hey, thanks for the detailed report.

This looks like a memory leak during long chat sessions. To better track down the cause, I need a couple things:

  1. Cursor version: Cursor > About Cursor > Copy
  2. Process Explorer: Cmd + Shift + P > “Developer: Open Process Explorer” Which process is using the most memory (extensionHost, renderer, ptyHost?)

Workarounds for now:

  • Start a new chat from time to time instead of continuing a very long one
  • Restart Cursor every few hours if you’re doing heavy work
  • Try disabling extensions (cursor --disable-extensions) to check if an extension is the cause

The Process Explorer details will help narrow down where the leak is.