Every time an update occurs on windows I get an error removing some file and cursor not only fails to update, but wipes itself off of my machine. I need to re-install from scratch.
I know this has been reported before and not actioned on.
I stopped taking updates, but today it auto tried to update.
Steps to Reproduce
Install update
Operating System
Windows 10/11
Version Information
Cursor - I can’t get info it isn’t installed anymore
Hey, thanks for the report. I can see the screenshot with the “Problem with Shortcut” error. This is a known issue with the Windows auto-updater. During an update, the old version gets removed before the new one finishes installing, and if the process gets interrupted (system restart, antivirus or security software locking files, Access Denied on the install folder), Cursor can get wiped completely. We’re tracking the bug, but I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet.
To get back to a working state right now:
Download the latest installer manually from Cursor · Download and install it over your current setup.
To stop future auto-updates from breaking the install again, open Settings Ctrl+Shift+,, find update.mode, and set it to none or manual. Then you’ll update yourself using the same download link.
Note: in some cases the update setting gets reset after reinstall, so if auto-update kicks in again, please re-check that setting.
If Cursor still won’t start after the manual reinstall, or you see a different error, send what you’re seeing and we’ll take a look.
I experience the same issue with cursor crashing during update, the result of which is that it essentially removes itself from my OS (Win11).
For what it’s worth, my (re)installation failed due to an rg.exe application “hanging” after cursor was closed down. Not sure if this is the cause or even related, but wanted to flag it here.
Hey, thanks for the details. The note about rg.exe is helpful. It looks like you have a slightly different scenario than the thread author. The install fails because the ripgrep process (rg.exe) stays running after closing Cursor and holds a lock on the install directory. This means the installer can’t overwrite files (“Access denied” / DeleteFile failed). We have this on our radar separately. No ETA on a fix yet.
To get back to a working state:
Fully close Cursor, then in Task Manager end all remaining Cursor and rg.exe processes (or just restart Windows. This is the most reliable way to remove the stuck lock).
If there’s a broken install folder left, delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\cursor.
Download the latest installer from Cursor · Download and install again.
To prevent auto-update from breaking the install again, in Settings (Ctrl+Shift+,) set update.mode to none or manual and update manually using the same link.
If you want your rg.exe case tracked separately (it differs from the main bug in this thread), start a new thread for it. This makes it easier not to mix two different scenarios. And let me know if the workaround helped.
I see the same dialog after clicking Retry. I end up with a broken Cursor app shortcut after clicking Cancel.
The solution I discovered is to terminate all Node.js processes (~8, all for mongodb-mcp-server node module) and then click Retry. This allows the update to be installed successfully.
