Korean Language Pack not applied in Cursor 3.12 Glass mode; --classic ignored (Windows)

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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Korean Language Pack (ms-ceintl.vscode-language-pack-ko) installs and registers correctly, and locale.json is set to “ko”, but the Cursor UI remains in English. Cursor 3.12 runs in Glass mode by default. Attempts to switch to Classic mode via argv.json (“classic”: true) or launching with Cursor.exe --classic are ignored.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Korean Language Pack for Visual Studio Code (MS-CEINTL.vscode-language-pack-ko)
  2. Set %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\locale.json to {“locale”: “ko”} (or use Configure Display Language → Korean)
  3. Fully quit and restart Cursor
  4. Observe top menu bar still shows File, Edit, Selection, View… (English)
  5. Add %APPDATA%\Cursor\argv.json with {“locale”: “ko”, “classic”: true} — no change
  6. Launch via C:\Users<user>\AppData\Local\Programs\cursor\Cursor.exe --classic — Glass mode persists

Expected Behavior

VS Code base UI (menus, settings, command palette labels) should display in Korean (e.g. 파일, 편집, 선택 영역…). Language Pack and locale configuration are verified correct; languagepacks.json registers all Korean translation paths.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Cursor IDE
Version: 3.12.17
VSCode Version: 1.128.0
Commit: 0fb762053c34788bb7760d5673f8a6d4c8589d50
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
Language Pack: [email protected]

Additional Information

Log evidence (renderer.log): “Extension isolation is disabled (forced disabled in glass mode)” and stack traces reference workbench.glass.main.js.

languagepacks.json correctly registers Korean translation paths. locale.json is {“locale”: “ko”}. argv.json with “classic”: true has no effect.

When --classic was used once, logs showed mixed behavior (one window Classic-like, another Glass); after normal restart all windows return to Glass.

Suggested fix: apply VS Code NLS in Glass mode, or fix --classic/argv.json to allow Classic workbench where Language Packs work.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. Your setup is actually correct, the issue is something else.

In Cursor 3.12, the Agents Window Glass opens by default, and that UI isn’t localized yet. Its labels like File, Edit, View are hardcoded in English, so no language pack will translate them. This is expected right now, not a broken install. The same issue is discussed here: The title bar area of cursor IDE cannot display Chinese

A couple notes about the flags:

  • --classic is a dev-only flag. It only affects the first window and doesn’t persist after a normal restart. That’s why you saw mixed behavior.
  • The "classic": true key in argv.json isn’t supported, so it gets ignored. Only "locale" works.

What you can do now is open the classic Editor or IDE window where the Korean Language Pack applies at least partially:

  • Cursor Settings > Agents > turn off Open Agents Window on Startup, or
  • Ctrl+Shift+N or the Open Editor Window command. In newer builds it might be called Open IDE, or
  • Right click the repo > Open in IDE.

Just to set expectations, even in the classic window only the base VS Code UI will be translated like menus and the command palette. Cursor-specific strings like Cursor Settings and the chat panel will stay in English because Microsoft language packs only include translations for upstream VS Code.

Full localization of Glass isn’t available yet, and I can’t share an exact timeline. I’ll pass along that there are already requests for multiple languages. Let me know if the Editor window workaround helped.