Editor content is rendered but not visible (Text/Code Completely Missing in Editor)

Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I’ve hit a strange and frustrating bug where the actual text content (my code and files) in the editor pane is totally invisible. The screen just shows a solid dark background where the content should be.

It’s clear the content is there, just not being drawn correctly, because:

The line numbers on the side are showing up fine.

If I use Ctrl + A or try to select text with my mouse, the selection outline appears perfectly.

The cursor moves and I can type, and the text is inserted in the right place, but I can’t see it!

Essentially, the editor seems to be rendering everything except the actual text characters. This makes using the editor impossible.

Steps to Reproduce

Launch Cursor.

Open any file.

The Result: The file opens, but the text inside is invisible.

Expected Behavior

I expect the file’s text content to be clearly visible so I can read and edit my code.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

img2.png
img2.png1920×1040 85.2 KB

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

版本: 1.7.53 (system setup)
提交: 1.99.3
日期: ab6b80c19b51fe71d58e69d8ed3802be587b3410
Electron: 2025-10-20T19:15:58.572Z
ElectronBuildId: 34.5.8
Chromium: undefined
Node.js: 132.0.6834.210
V8: 20.19.1
OS: 13.2.152.41-electron.0

Additional Information

I’ve already tried several common fixes, but none have worked:

Extensions: I removed/disabled all custom theme and coloring extensions.

Reinstall: I completely uninstalled and reinstalled Cursor.

Hardware Acceleration: I tried disabling GPU hardware acceleration, but this did not resolve the rendering issue.

Themes: The issue happens even on the default dark theme.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

2

Hey, thanks for the report. You’ve already covered the standard steps.

Try these valid flags:

  • cursor.exe --disable-gpu --no-sandbox
  • cursor.exe --disable-gpu-compositing

Please provide:

  1. Your GPU model and graphics driver version
  2. Open View → Toggle Developer Tools → Console tab and send a screenshot of any errors

I’ll pass this to the team, since it’s a critical bug that fully blocks work.

4

Thanks for the prompt suggestions.

I tested launching Cursor with both flags, but the issue persists exactly as before—the editor content is still invisible.

  • cursor.exe --disable-gpu --no-sandbox Result: No change.
  • cursor.exe --disable-gpu-compositing Result: No change.

1. GPU Model and Graphics Driver Version

This is the requested hardware and driver information:

  • GPU Model: Radeon RX550/550 Series
  • Driver Version: 31.0.12029.10015

2. Console Errors

I opened View → Toggle Developer Tools and checked the Console tab while the issue was visible.

cursorlog
cursorlog1059×998 21.3 KB

Please let me know if you need any further logs or testing.

5

Thanks for the console logs, very helpful. The errors show Cursor can’t initialize the graphics pipeline for the Monaco editor (the code editor) on your AMD GPU.

The key errors are D3D11 pipeline creation failures with E_INVALIDARG, which suggests a DirectX 11 compatibility issue.

Please try these ANGLE flags (they tell Electron which graphics API to use):

  • cursor.exe --use-angle=d3d9 (older DirectX 9)
  • cursor.exe --use-angle=gl (OpenGL instead of DirectX)
  • cursor.exe --use-angle=swiftshader (software rendering fallback)

The errors point to a WebGPU/DirectX rendering incompatibility with the RX550 that needs investigation. Let me know if any of these ANGLE flags works as a temporary workaround.