Cursor switches between being able to read and edit files directly to having to use CLI commands like "sed", "cat" etc

[zYhaR3V (Scott)]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Often when I’m using Cursor to fix RSpec or other test failures - it has to identify which lines in my files to fix.

Instead of being able to read and modify the files directly as it usually does, it often reverts to using CLI commands to edit and read the files, which is super annoying and needs repeated manual approval - it’s practically unusable in this state. It unnecessarily prolongs my workflow to the point that I’d have been better off manually editing the file myself.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Get Cursor to modify Ruby / Rails codebase files
2. Have Rubocop enabled for example - and tests to check Rubocop passes
3. Have a file which makes multiple Rubocop violations like linelength or method length, and watch Cursor trying to fix them and request manual approval for CLI commands as opposed to just editing the files normally as it usually does

Expected Behavior

I’d expect Cursor to be able to read and edit files without additional CLI commands

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.1.39 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 60d42bed27e5775c43ec0428d8c653c49e58e260
Date: 2025-11-27T02:30:49.286Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 23.6.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Auto

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report. This looks like an issue when the Cursor agent switches to CLI tools (sed, cat) for bulk changes in files, especially with multiple edits in Ruby/Rails using Rubocop/RSpec - to reduce load, but it requires manual approval.

Similar: Why does Cursor use `sed` for bulk code edits instead of direct modifications?

Temporary workaround: Add a rule to .cursor/rules “Always edit files directly without CLI tools unless specified”; restart Cursor and test on a simple prompt.

Could you please share:

• Request ID from the chat menu (Copy Request ID);
• An example prompt where AI switches to CLI;
• Console: Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console (screenshot or error logs).

Share the info and let me know if the workaround helped.