High Power and CPU Usage on Mac

Bug Reports
1

Describe the Bug

Hi Cursor Team,

I’m experiencing unusually high power and CPU usage when running Cursor on my Mac (Model: [Macbook Pro], Chip: [M4 pro], macOS: [15.5]). The app often consumes 100%+ CPU and drains my battery rapidly, even when no extensions are enabled.

Steps I’ve tried:

  • Disabled all extensions (using --disable-extensions)
  • Updated to the latest Cursor version
  • Monitored Activity Monitor (Cursor consistently at the top)

Would appreciate updates on this issue!

I have been using cursor with M1 macbook air too, same problems there.

Steps to Reproduce

Well keep running cursor for over an hour on your macbook. I am sure you will find it yourself.

Expected Behavior

My Macbook should not heat running small codebases for the least.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Screenshot 2025-07-06 at 6.20.30 PM.png
Screenshot 2025-07-06 at 6.20.30 PM.png3024×1964 381 KB

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 1.2.1 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: 031e7e0ff1e2eda9c1a0f5df67d44053b059c5d0
Date: 2025-07-03T06:08:06.355Z (3 days ago)
Electron: 34.5.1
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.0
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.5.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

1 Like
2

Hey, please check the Process Explorer panel. Find it in the command palette and share a screenshot.

3

What is Process Explorer Panel, are you asking me to look at CPU usage in Activity Monitor?

4

By the way, it’s not overheating anymore after I disabled extensions using --disable-extensions, I am still sharing screenshots of process explorer for reference

Screenshot 2025-07-07 at 5.46.54 PM
Screenshot 2025-07-07 at 5.46.54 PM1602×992 88.7 KB

5

Based on the Process Explorer screenshot, the main issue seems to be in the script itself. The documents.py — api_server process is consuming 230% CPU, which almost certainly points to an infinite loop, unbounded recursion, or some blocking operation running continuously.

extensionHost is also using a noticeable amount of CPU, but since you mentioned launching VS Code with --disable-extensions, it’s possible the screenshot was taken before extensions were fully disabled. If the CPU usage stayed high even after disabling extensions, then it’s safe to say the issue is in the code, not the editor.

I’d take a closer look at any loops or recursive functions in the script and add some logging to pinpoint where the CPU usage starts to spike.