Cursor won't start on Linux with no cpufreq driver

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Cursor IDE won’t start on Linux without a cpufreq driver installed

I’m trying to run cursor in the Debian VM that is available on Android 16. The VM does not currently have a cpufreq driver available. Cursor fails per the attached screenshot.

Steps to Reproduce

On a Linux host with no cpufreq driver, install the arm64 Linux cursor deb package and then run cursor.

Expected Behavior

Initial configuration, then the cursor IDE window should appear.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

Linux

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

IDE fails to start. The package installed was the 1.7 deb.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

Thanks for the detailed report!

Quick question: does VSCode work in this same environment? Just to understand this env better.

Can you also share a bit about the use case here? Thanks!

I’ve just tried the current vscode download. No, it also fails to start. I’ll raise a ticket there. Note that it doesn’t report a cpufreq error but still gives the same “The platform failed to initialize” message so the cpufreq thing may be a red herring.

Current pixel phones are able to run a Debian virtual machine with a graphical display and use an external display, keyboard and mouse via USB-C. This makes them a viable development platform, if the IDE will run. I should be able to plug my phone into a dock or take my dev environment with me (albeit on a very small screen).