Cursor update brakes AI models with API keys

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

The new update of Cursor IDE appears to have broken the API/model system and option key binding with numbers on Mac. At least in projects initiated using other cursor IDE versions. I have valid keys for Gemini, Anthropic Open AI, and somehow, if I start a conversation with Open AI and then switch to Anthropic or Gemini models, I get an INVALID key, which suggests that there is something going on with handling keys around. This started happening today after I installed the new update.

Steps to Reproduce

Open a conversation with an activated OpenAI key, ask which model it is, and the model says it is GPT-5 running cursor. Then switch to Gemini-2.5 pro model says invalid key.

Expected Behavior

Expected the model to use the correct API key to access Gemini 2.5 pro.

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

ersion: 2.0.43 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: 8e4da76ad196925accaa169efcae28c45454cce0
Date: 2025-10-30T18:49:27.589Z (3 days ago)
Electron: 34.5.8
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.1
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Gemini 2.5-pro

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

Request ID: 4fa574d2-212a-4c5b-9900-04b0446ef544
{“error”:“ERROR_BAD_USER_API_KEY”,“details”:{“title”:“Bad User API key”,“detail”:“Unauthorized User API key”,“isRetryable”:false,“additionalInfo”:{},“buttons”:,“planChoices”:},“isExpected”:true}
ConnectError: [unauthenticated] Error
at Fqc.$endAiConnectTransportReportError (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:4984:399337)
at uwo._doInvokeHandler (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:490:36007)
at uwo._invokeHandler (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:490:35749)
at uwo._receiveRequest (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:490:34514)
at uwo._receiveOneMessage (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:490:33336)
at qDt.value (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:490:31429)
at _e._deliver (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:49:2962)
at _e.fire (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:49:3283)
at hgt.fire (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:4969:12156)
at MessagePort. (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:7492:18403)

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known bug the team is already working on, when you enable your OpenAI API key, it’s mistakenly applied to all models (Claude, Gemini, etc.), which causes the “Unauthorized User API key” errors.

Temporary workaround: turn off your OpenAI API key in Cursor → Settings → Models when you need to use subscription models (Claude/Gemini), and turn it back on only for OpenAI models.

The team is aware and working on a fix. Sorry for the inconvenience!

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