Extension Activity Bar icons invisible after update — CSS applies padding-left: 36px to 36px-wide uri-icon elements

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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

After a recent Cursor update, extension-provided Activity Bar icons (e.g. SQLTools, Claude Code) become invisible. Built-in icons remain visible.

DevTools shows .action-label:not(.codicon) at 36x36px with padding: 0 0 0 36px !important from workbench.desktop.main.css, pushing uri-icon SVGs out of view.

Not fixed by theme changes or clearing Cache/CachedData.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Windows + remote workspace (WSL/SSH)
  2. Settings may include workbench.activityBar.orientation: vertical
  3. Install SQLTools / Claude Code
  4. Built-in icons visible; extension icons invisible (tooltips on hover)
  5. DevTools confirms padding-left: 36px on .action-label:not(.codicon)

Expected Behavior

Extension Activity Bar icons should render like built-in icons.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Reported after recent Cursor update (exact version not captured at post time). Remote: Linux via WSL/SSH.

For AI issues: which model did you use?

N/A

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

N/A

Additional Information

Workaround: remove workbench.activityBar.orientation vertical and reload.
Related: Activity Bar Layout Issue
CSS override: .action-label:not(.codicon) { padding: 0 !important; }

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, great write-up, thanks. Your DevTools analysis is spot on. Confirming: in the vertical Activity Bar workbench.activityBar.orientation: vertical, .action-label:not(.codicon) gets padding-left: 36px !important. That padding is meant for text labels, but it also hits extension icons .uri-icon, pushing them out of the ~36px box. Built-in icons use codicon fonts and don’t match this rule, so they stay visible while extension icons don’t.

This is separate from the “empty squares” CORS issue that’s fixed by Reload Window. Here it’s purely layout and CSS.

Both workarounds are valid:

  • remove workbench.activityBar.orientation: vertical and reload, or
  • use your CSS override .action-label:not(.codicon) { padding: 0 !important; }

I’ve reported this as a bug on our side. I can’t share an ETA yet, but I’ll update the thread when I have news. If you can, please add your exact Cursor version from Help > About so we can tie it to a specific build.