Files do not refresh when updated outside cursor

Support Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

files do not refresh when updated outside cursor

Steps to Reproduce

add a new file or edit a file outside of cursor (eg. visual studio). The file will not change in cursor, its getting out of sync with the file system.

Closing the file in Cursor, and opening again in Cursor does not work. Workaround is to fully restart Cursor.

Wtf do they cache files above the file system level btw?!?

Expected Behavior

files in cursor should update if the underlying file changes.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.2.20 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: b3573281c4775bfc6bba466bf6563d3d498d1070
Date: 2025-12-12T06:29:26.017Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100

For AI issues: which model did you use?

any

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

2

Hey, thanks for the report.

This looks like a file-watching issue. To help the dev team investigate, could you share a bit more info:

  1. Which file types are affected? (e.g., .cs, .js, all types)
  2. Your workspace size and approximate file count
  3. Are you using any antivirus or security software?
  4. Does the issue occur if you create a new file via Command Prompt/PowerShell instead of Visual Studio?
  5. Please check: CTRL+Shift+P → Developer: Open Process Explorer - do you see any process with high CPU/RAM usage?

Also try:

  • Open Command Palette Ctrl+Shift+P → Reload Window - does this help instead of a full restart?

I’ll create a ticket for the dev team to investigate this further.