Duplicate chat panels shown when "Open chat as editor" is enabled + add icon creates tab in wrong panel

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When I have “Open chat as editor” enabled, I’m seeing two separate chat interfaces on the same screen:
The editor-based chat (as expected)
The compose/sidebar chat (should be hidden)

Steps to Reproduce

Enable “Open chat as editor” in Cursor settings
Open a new chat - both the editor chat and compose chat panels appear simultaneously
Click the “+” (add) icon from the left editor chat panel
A new tab gets created in the right compose chat instead of in the editor chat

Expected Behavior

Only one chat interface should be visible when “Open chat as editor” is enabled
The add icon in the editor chat should create a new tab within the same editor chat panel

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.2.43 (system setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 32cfbe848b35d9eb320980195985450f244b3030
Date: 2025-12-19T06:06:44.644Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22631

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the report.

I can see the screenshot where the chat panels are duplicated. This is a known issue related to the new Agent sidebar. Please try this workaround:

• Go to Settings → Agents → Default Location, and set it to “Pane” instead of “Editor”
• Close the Agent panel
• Try creating a new chat again

This helped in similar cases: CMD+OPT+B often opens two chat sidebars

Let me know if the issue persists.

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

Still same for me after trying the workaround

[deanrie]

Thanks for the update. I see that Default Location is set to “Pane”, but the issue still happens.

Please also try the following:

1. Fully quit and restart Cursor after changing the setting.
2. After restart, make sure the Agent panel is closed (right sidebar).
3. Only then, create a new chat.

If it still happens after all of the steps above, please share:

• Does this happen every time, or only sometimes?
• Do you have any other custom Cursor settings, especially related to layout or panels?
• Try using the CTRL+D shortcut to force switching to panel mode.

Let me know if this helps.

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

Hey Dean,

I tried all the steps. But, still it’s not working.
It happens every time
No other custom Cursor settings
Tried CTRL+D multiple times

Attaching a short screen video for CTRL+D and how the IDE behaves.

[deanrie]

Thanks for the video and the detailed report, it really helps!

A couple things to try:

1. Update to the latest version (currently 2.3.x): Help > Check for Updates
2. After updating, try resetting the layout: View > Reset Layout
3. Try it in a different project
4. Also try a temporary profile: cursor --user-data-dir=%TEMP%\cursor-test. If this helps, a normal reinstall of Cursor will likely fix it.

Let me know if the issue still happens after the update. If it does, I’ll pass your report directly to the dev team.

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

I’m using cursor’s enterprise and don’t have 2.3.x still available. Currently at version 2.2.44
I’ll let you know once I receive the 2.3.x update

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

So after updating from 2.2.44 to 2.3.29 and following the steps that you recommended, the previous issue is not coming up anymore. But, still “Open Chat as Editor” is not working.

As you can see in video, it goes into loading state and hides itself.
I need to press Ctrl+Alt+B to bring it back and even when it’s back, it’s loading.
To get rid of this, I need to select “Clear All Chats” option.

[deanrie]

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear the duplicate panels issue was fixed after updating to 2.3.29.

The loading state issue you’re seeing now looks like a known bug related to corrupted chat data. To help diagnose it, please do this:

1. Open Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console
2. Try opening a new chat (the one that gets stuck loading)
3. Share any errors you see in the console, especially ones that include [composer] or checkpoint

Let me know what the console shows.

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

There is an error for [composer] after opening a new chat which is in loading state and nothing related checkpoint was found

Version Info:

[deanrie]

Thanks, I see the [composer] No composer data handle found error in the console.

This is a known issue. Chats can sometimes get corrupted and get stuck in a loading state. Try this workaround:

Temporary fix:

1. Settings > Agents > Default Location. Set it to “Pane” instead of “Editor”
2. Fully restart Cursor

The team is working on a fix.

[ashish8545 (Ashish)]

Thanks. But, this temporary fix doesn’t work for me. Will wait for the fix to rollout.

[tttyyy]

I have the same think happening to me. It happens when I start a new chat, and then use “Add to Chat” feature from my code. It creates a new empty pane, that I didn’t ask for.