Hey @Met-Sam, glad to hear the update went smoothly and the second bug is gone too.
I’ll keep the thread open since it’s still happening for a few other users here. If it comes back for you, let me know. Details about the install path, agent processes, and your antivirus would help us pin down the remaining cases.
Cursor IDE
Cursor IDE uninstalled itself for no known reason. It has happened with me multiple times.
There is no step to produce i was working fine just yesterday with cursor after i was done shut down my laptop now today when i open the laptop the cursor was not there.
Windows 10/11
Version: 3.5.3
No - Cursor works, but with this issue
I had this occuring twice and it seems getting harder to fix - installer was completely disabled.
Could not get it to run even with antivirus disabled, as admin, and all appdata etc removed, clean slate. Only thing that worked still was command line.
it’s seriously… let’s go with … annoying
that’s weird, have you tried disabling auto update in the vscode settings? and what version of cursor did you downloaded and launch for the installator ?
oh, for that you need to go back to the editor, altho this settings is there, it also change the update setting of the new agent window (I think all that is planned to change soon), but yes, you will find them by going back the the old IDE
thanks.
did you find it?
Hey, thanks for the ongoing reports. This is still the same Windows auto-updater bug, and it’s on our radar.
A few things to try right now to stop Cursor from disappearing:
update.mode, and set it to none. You’ll need to install updates manually, but the app should stop disappearing after a reboot.To help narrow it down, can you share this info, especially if it happened recently:
CursorUserSetup-x64 or system CursorSetup-x64?cursor ., or directly from Windows?Also please check Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Protection history to see if Defender quarantined the binary. This can happen even if you use a third-party antivirus.
Let me know if switching to the system installer helped. That’s the most useful signal for us right now.
Cursor IDE
Cursor keeps deleting itself after I restart windows always. I saw 1000s of issues reported by other users and you guys havnt been able to fix it so far! And you guys keep saying we have deployed a fix this week or that week but the issue is still there. What kind of support is this?
Just restart windows and sometimes yor see cursor gone.
Windows 10/11
No version as any version gets deleted always
Yes - Cursor is unusable
Unfortunately, update.mode is no longer an option. I noticed you added this into Cursor keeps deleting after every restart - Support / Bug Reports - Cursor - Community Forum a few hours ago, but that’s wrong advice.
well, since only the installation is failing, it means the file still get downloaded to your computer, my solution still holds, you might as well try it :
go to C:\Users\your drive username\AppData\Local\Temp\vscode-stable-user-x64-hidyhc3209 (could be a different folder name based on the version track release that you are)
and there will be the .exe for the installation, I launch it on admin mode and it works
Hey, thanks for the updates and corrections, especially @Luca1 and @Tom_Coustols.
@Luca1, you’re right, and thanks for catching it. In the new Agent window, the update.mode toggle is not in the UI anymore. But you can still set it manually. Open the Editor window, then open settings.json via Ctrl+Shift+P > Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and add:
"update.mode": "none"
This still works to disable auto-update, there’s just no checkbox in the new UI now. I’ll fix my wording in that thread, thanks.
@Tom_Coustols, your method is valid. When the install fails halfway through, the .exe is already downloaded to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\vscode-stable-user-x64-*, and running it as admin finishes the install. Good option for a quick recovery.
If Cursor is completely gone, the easiest fix is to reinstall from Cursor · Download. Settings and extensions are stored in %APPDATA%\Cursor and %USERPROFILE%\.cursor, they don’t get wiped. Only the app binary disappears.
@gourav_gupta, I get it, losing the app after every restart really blocks work. The bug is known and tracked, but I honestly can’t give an exact ETA because it depends on reworking the update mechanism. For now, the most reliable workaround is disabling auto-update via update.mode above and updating manually.
What really helps narrow down the cause in each specific case:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor\ user or C:\Program Files\cursor\ system?pnpm dev, wrangler dev, next dev? They can keep a handle on resources/ and break updates.If there’s progress on the fix, I’ll post an update here.
Cursor IDE
I’m using Windows 11, and keep that updated as much as possible.
Cursor often uninstalls itself and every time I reinstall and get a new update, I hope that the bug is fixed, but is it not. This has been the case for over a year, regardless of which version.
I am not sure at this point, the devs know what the cause/fix is.
I NEVER have Cursor automatically downloading updates. I download them when I want to, however, Cursor sometimes goes against my wishes and updates itself when I do not update it.
Install Cursor and use it for a few weeks/months.
Cursor should not update itself.
Cursor should not update itself when the user clicks ignore at updates, or remind me later option.
Cursor should not uninstall itself.
Windows 10/11
None because it has uninstalled itself.
N/A
Yes - Cursor is unusable
cursor keeps uninstalling itself. Why?
After signing in the browser version, the dashboard is empty.
The only resolution is install cursor again and open the web app. It is a waste of time. And I noticed these issues have been raised since 2024! so why can’t this be fixed please?
This definitely cannot be a product feature so any reasonable resolution would be welcome.
Thanks!
Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known Windows auto-updater bug. During an update, Cursor first removes the old version, then installs the new one. If something interrupts the process between those steps, like a system restart, antivirus or EDR, or a process holding a handle on the resources folder, the app can end up completely removed. This is on our side and we’re tracking it, but I can’t give a clear ETA yet since it requires reworking the update mechanism.
Good news: your settings and extensions aren’t lost. They live in %APPDATA%\Cursor and %USERPROFILE%\.cursor. Only the binary disappears, so after reinstall everything should come back.
To stop Cursor from disappearing, the most reliable workaround is to disable auto-update:
Ctrl+Shift+P > Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) and add:"update.mode": "none"
A couple other things that helped other users in this thread:
CursorSetup-x64 instead of the user installer. For some users, that fixed it.pnpm dev, wrangler dev, next dev via the agent, it’s better to run them in an external terminal. Otherwise the bundled node.exe can keep a handle on resources/ and break the update.About the empty dashboard in the browser version after login, that sounds like a separate issue and not related to the uninstall bug. Can you share a screenshot of what you see after signing in, and tell me which browser you’re using? We can look into that separately.
I greatly appreciate your help. But just out of curiosity? Why is this still the chosen updating approach on Cursor’s side? Or does it come from the VSCode side? The industry standard has moved away from updating by uninstalling the old and then installing the new version without fallback systems for years. All these reports basically act as Q.E.D. for why this is a bad approach. You cannot update crossing your fingers, that the machine and all its processes remain static during the update. I mean, I do not know what’s under the hood, but it seems quite fragile for 2026, especially, as for some, cursor is a paid experience? But please enlighten me.
Hey @Jorangutan, fair question. Yeah, the Windows update mechanism is largely inherited from the VS Code base Cursor is built on. It uses an Inno-based updater that works like remove the old version then install the new one, and in that flow there isn’t a proper rollback if the process gets interrupted halfway through, like a reboot, AV or EDR holding a handle, or a process keeping a file open in resources/.
You’re right that for 2026 this is a fragile approach, and we don’t disagree. That’s also why this isn’t a quick patch. A real fix means reworking the updater itself, not just adding a small workaround. The bug is on our side and we’re tracking it, but I can’t give a reliable ETA while the updater work is still in progress.
Until there’s a fix, the most reliable way to avoid losing the app is to disable auto-update and update manually. In the editor window go to Ctrl+Shift+P then Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON), and add:
"update.mode": "none"
That setting isn’t shown in the UI in the new Agent window anymore, but it still works via settings.json.
If an update already removed the app, your settings and extensions won’t be lost. They’re stored in %APPDATA%\Cursor and %USERPROFILE%\.cursor, so after reinstalling from Cursor · Download everything should come back. When there’s progress on the fix, I’ll reply in this thread.
Cursor IDE
For over a month, I haven’t been able to update Cursor without it uninstalling. I have to keep going to Cursor’s website and download/install it. This is happening all year.
This is a two-tiered system…Windows gets no love in the new tech world, have a feeling we’re just going to keep getting the short end of the stick every time.
Even in 2026, we’re still having to go through these ridiculous forms to submit issues and on several occasions it just bugs out and I lose everything that I’ve written. Why can’t we make it easier and have our agents submit and pull info from our ide.
Self-explanatory.
Windows 10/11
Version: 3.10.20 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.125.0
Commit: 23b9fb205fe595ea2be29da7214e19762d037fc0
Date: 2026-07-07T07:03:33.071Z
Layout: Agent Window
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
When this issue get fixed?
