@James_Scholey the toggle is included in 3.3.30, but it’s rolling out gradually, so it might not show up yet even on the latest version. It should arrive in the next few days with no extra steps. Until then, working options are Ctrl+Shift+N from the Agents Window, or launching from the terminal with cursor . --classic.
@hufftheweevil glad the toggle showed up after a restart. Feedback about the new Agents Window button style button.background instead of a transparent background, plus the title bar prominence is noted and tracked separately. That’s a valid UX concern and I’ll pass it to the team responsible for that decision. I can’t share an ETA for changes.
If anyone is on 3.3.30 and still doesn’t see the toggle a couple of days after fully restarting Cursor, reply here with your version from Help > About and we’ll check.
There is no toggle. There is no visibility issue. You are forcing your users into a mode that they do not want. We don’t want this. Give us options – it is mostly a layout issue, why are you forcing us?
@Mark_Holtzhausen the toggle that controls this lives in Cursor Settings > Agents > "Open Agents Window on startup". If you turn it off, Cursor will start straight in the Editor.
If you don’t have that toggle, it looks like a known bug. For some users, the toggle disappears after they turn it off once, and it doesn’t show up again in settings. It’s being tracked, but there’s no ETA for a fix yet.
For now, there’s a reliable workaround that doesn’t depend on the toggle. Launch Cursor from the terminal with the --classic flag:
cursor . --classic
This opens Cursor straight into the normal Editor classic IDE, without the Agents Window. You can set up an alias so you don’t have to type the flag every time.
To check your specific case, please share your version from Help > About and your OS. I want to confirm the toggle is actually missing and it’s not just not available in your build yet.
And on the main point, starting in the Agents Window by default isn’t forcing anything. There should be an option to go back to the Editor, and if you don’t have it, that’s a bug, not intended. Once there’s an update on the fix, I’ll reply in the thread.
I agree with the majority here. I do not pay money to have a tool totally go sideways on me from a UI perspective. I’ve been looking at Zed much more closely now..
@deanrie unsure if I should file a separate bug report or stick it here, but:
When Open Agents Window on startup[1] is enabled ( which it enables itself by default even if you never use the Agents window because it’s difficult to read and impossible to theme ), Cursor forgets what project windows you had open every single time you restart Cursor, even if you were in Editor mode when Cursor was restarted.
Likewise, when this setting is disabled in Agent settings and Cursor is restarted, all of my old project windows were restored, and this setting itself has completely disappeared from the settings menu.
I would also like to express how frustrating it is to have the editor behavior change so drastically out from under me with no communication from the editor itself as to what’s changing or how to revert the changed behavior.
Hey @fire, thanks for the detailed write-up. I can see the screenshot with the Open Agents Window on startup toggle enabled.
Point by point:
About the disappearing toggle, that’s a known bug. After you turn it off once, it disappears from settings for some users and doesn’t come back. We’re tracking the issue, but I can’t share an exact fix date yet.
About Cursor not restoring previously open project windows after a restart when Open Agents Window on startup is enabled, that’s separate behavior. It’s better not to mix it with the main bug in this thread, otherwise it’ll get lost. Please start a separate thread for that specific symptom with the version Help > About, your OS, and the steps to reproduce what was open before the restart and what stayed open after. That way we can track it properly.
In the meantime, a reliable workaround that doesn’t depend on the toggle is to launch from terminal with the --classic flag:
cursor . --classic
This opens Cursor directly in the normal Editor and skips the Agents Window. You can add an alias so you don’t have to type the flag every time.
About the lack of communication around the behavior change, fair feedback. I’ll pass it to the team. Once we have an update on fixes, I’ll follow up in the thread.
