"Files above 50MB cannot be synchronized" on small local files in multi-root workspace (not WSL)

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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Environment:

  • macOS 14 (Sonoma), Apple Silicon
  • Cursor (latest)
  • Local multi-root workspace (two repos, neither containing large files)
  • Not using WSL or any remote connection

Reproduction:

  1. Open a multi-root workspace with two local repos
  2. Use “Find All References” on a symbol that has references across multiple files
  3. Click on a reference result to navigate to a file that hasn’t been opened yet this session

Result:
Some reference results show the error “Files above 50MB cannot be synchronized with extensions” — the files in question are ~5KB TypeScript source files.

Workaround, kinda: Pre-opening the affected file via Cmd+P or the file tree before using Find All References. This helps, but only sometimes. Sometimes the file still doesn’t open.

Notes:
This appears to be the same underlying bug reported in this WSL thread where Dean Rie confirmed it’s a Cursor-side bug with FileSystemProvider returning incorrect FileStat.size. My case demonstrates the bug is not WSL-specific — it also affects local multi-root workspaces on macOS. “Reload Window” does not fix it; only pre-opening the file helps.

Steps to Reproduce

Included above

Expected Behavior

The file opens with the matching reference displayed.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Screenshot 2026-05-22 at 12.54.09 AM.png
Screenshot 2026-05-22 at 12.54.09 AM.png1040×1636 164 KB

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.5.17 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: d5b2fc092e16007956c9e5047f76097b9e626ca0
Date: 2026-05-20T02:43:31.559Z
Layout: editor
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and for the link to the WSL thread. This is the same bug as `anysphere.remote-wsl` deterministically rejects `openTextDocument` for certain WSL files with "Files above 50MB cannot be synchronized with extensions" — files are <2 KB, plain VS Code with `ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl` on the same workspace works fine. It’s the same code path in mainThreadDocuments.ts where shouldSynchronizeModel() drops the model because bufferTextLength is wrong. Your case is super helpful because it shows the issue isn’t in anysphere.remote-wsl, it’s in the shared file resolution layer for multi-root.

I’ve already reported this internally in the WSL thread, and I’ll update the scope based on your case too, macOS local without remote. I can’t share an ETA for a fix yet.

For a workaround, pre-opening via Cmd+P is the best option right now. If you find files that still fail to open reliably even after pre-open, send them here, it’ll help us reproduce on our side.