JSON Response in Browser tab is unreadable due to color/background clash

Support Bug Reports
,
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When I visit localhost:3000/api/* (any API endpoint that returns a JSON response via GET), the JSON text is displayed in the browser‑style tab inside Cursor, but the text color matches the background color of the page. As a result, I cannot see the response content at all unless I manually select the text with my cursor to highlight it.

This makes debugging API responses very difficult because the JSON is effectively invisible by default. The issue happens consistently across different API routes that return JSON, and it occurs in the internal browser tab that Cursor opens when I open a localhost URL.

As you can see in the provided screenshot, the response that aren’t selected aren’t visible

Steps to Reproduce

Start a local development server that serves JSON responses on localhost:3000 (for example, a Next.js or Express API that returns JSON on GET requests).

In Cursor, open the in‑app browser tab (or use “Open in Browser” / equivalent) and visit http://localhost:3000/api/* (e.g., http://localhost:3000/api/users).

Observe the JSON response displayed in the browser‑style tab.

Notice that the JSON text color exactly matches the background of the page, making the content invisible unless you select the text with the cursor.

Expected Behavior

Expected behavior:

The JSON response text should have a clearly visible color (e.g., light text on a dark background, or vice versa) so it is readable without having to select it.

The text color should respect or override the current theme to ensure sufficient contrast with the background.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Screenshot 2026-05-14 170940.png
Screenshot 2026-05-14 170940.png1137×1079 88 KB

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Cursor IDE 3.4.16

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the report and the detailed screenshot. This looks like a regression of a previously fixed bug where non-HTML responses (JSON or txt) in the built-in browser get a foreground color that blends into the background. I’ve reported it internally, but there’s no confirmed ETA yet.

A couple things that can help:

  • As a workaround, try enabling the Pretty-print checkbox at the top of the page. That uses Chrome’s native JSON viewer with its own styling, and it should make the output readable. Let me know if it helps in your case, it would confirm the fallback foreground color theory.
  • Alternative: open the URL in your system browser via Ctrl+Click on the link in the terminal, or open it manually in Chrome or Edge.
  • Also, can you check if it still happens after switching to the light theme with Ctrl+K Ctrl+T? That will help narrow down the cause.

If I get an update on the fix, I’ll reply in the thread.