Extension Host Repeatedly Crashing (code -1073741819 / 0xC0000005) — All Editor Features Broken

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Environment:

  • OS: Windows x64

  • Cursor Version: 2.6.18

Hi, :smiling_face_with_tear:

I’m experiencing a critical issue where the extension host crashes repeatedly and the editor has become completely unusable.

What’s happening: The extension host terminates unexpectedly 3 or more times within a 5-minute window. Each crash occurs shortly after anysphere.cursor-retrieval activates, and the following extensions are reported as running at the time of each crash:

  • anysphere.cursor-always-local

  • anysphere.cursor-resolver

  • anysphere.cursor-retrieval

The exit code is 18446744072635810000, and the native crash code is -1073741819 (0xC0000005 — Access Violation), which suggests this is a Windows-level native crash rather than a JavaScript error.

Side effects:

  • Ctrl+P file search is not working (No search provider registered for scheme: file)

  • Terminal execution service fails to initialize (Extension host not ready after 10 attempts)

  • All editor features including AI are completely non-functional

What I’ve already tried:

  • Extension Bisect (problem persists even with 8 extensions disabled — the crash appears to be in a built-in Cursor extension, not a user-installed one)

  • Full reinstall after deleting all Cursor-related data

  • Added Cursor’s installation directory to Windows Defender exclusions — no change

  • No new extensions were added; the environment has not changed

Nothing has resolved the issue. I’ve attached the exported logs for reference.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

——————— new ———————

Where does the bug appear? Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug: The extension host crashes repeatedly (3+ times within 5 minutes) with a Windows-level native crash code -1073741819 (0xC0000005 — Access Violation). The crash consistently occurs shortly after anysphere.cursor-retrieval activates. As a result, all editor features including file search (Ctrl+P) and AI are completely non-functional.

Crash details from log:

[UtilityProcess id: 2, type: extensionHost, pid: 16700]: 
crashed with code -1073741819 and reason 'crashed'

Extensions running at time of crash:

  • anysphere.cursor-always-local

  • anysphere.cursor-resolver

  • anysphere.cursor-retrieval

Exit code: 18446744072635810000

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Launch Cursor IDE

  2. Open any workspace

  3. Wait approximately 3–5 seconds after startup

  4. anysphere.cursor-retrieval activates

  5. Extension host immediately crashes

  6. Steps 4–5 repeat 3+ times until the editor gives up

Expected Behavior: The extension host should remain stable after startup and all editor features should work normally.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings: (Exported log file attached and images)

Operating System: Windows 11 x64

Version Information:

IDE:
Version: 2.6.18

For AI issues — Model used: N/A

Additional Information:

What I’ve already tried (none resolved the issue):

  • Extension Bisect — Disabled 8 extensions, crash still occurs. The problem appears to be in Cursor’s built-in extensions, not user-installed ones.

  • Full reinstall — Deleted all Cursor-related data and reinstalled from scratch.

  • Windows Defender exclusion — Added Cursor’s installation directory to Windows Defender exclusions. No change.

  • No new extensions were added prior to this issue occurring. The environment has not changed.

Side effects caused by the crash:

  • Ctrl+P file search broken (No search provider registered for scheme: file)

  • Terminal execution service fails (Extension host not ready after 10 attempts)

  • All AI features completely non-functional

Does this stop you from using Cursor? :white_check_mark: Yes — Cursor is unusable

cursor-bug02
cursor-bug02640×110 6.67 KB

cursor-bug01
cursor-bug01374×108 5.28 KB

cursor-bug03
cursor-bug03516×235 6.41 KB

error_log.txt (81.3 KB)

2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Cursor IDE
  • Cursor CLI
  • Background Agent (GitHub, Slack, Web, Linear)
  • BugBot
  • Somewhere else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. …
  2. …
  3. …

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

5

I have updated my post with the requested details. As this issue is making Cursor completely unusable for me, I would greatly appreciate a prompt response. Thank you!

6

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and logs. This is a known crash pattern in the retrieval-always-local extension host on Windows. We’ve been seeing it from several users recently.

The crash code 0xC0000005 (Access Violation) points to a native crash in the local indexing binary crepectl, which gets triggered through cursor-retrieval.

Try this:

  • Open Cursor Settings, not VS Code settings, then go to Indexing & Docs
  • Turn off Codebase Indexing
  • If you see Index Repositories for Instant Grep (BETA), turn that off too
  • Restart Cursor

Another user found that the Instant Grep (BETA) option was the trigger, especially on larger projects: Extension host terminated unexpectedly always - #6 by facio313

You’ll lose local codebase search, but chat, agent, Cursor Tab completions, and everything else should work.

A couple questions to help narrow this down:

The team is aware of extension host crashes in this area. Your report and logs help with prioritization. Let me know how it goes.

7

image
image708×686 21.7 KB

I found a workaround —
disabling the “Index Repositories for Instant Grep (BETA)” option resolved the issue.
Note that “Codebase Indexing” was left enabled and not touched.

Thank you for your help!:blush::+1:

1 Like
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