Last 2-3 auto updates have broken my Cursor installation

[novology]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Since shortly after the launch of 3.0, following me accepting an update install, the installation process failed because some process didn’t shut off (sorry, no detail, thought it was a transient issue). Instead of rollback, user prompt, or graceful retry the failure somehow broke my Cursor instance - ie. I couldn’t launch Cursor IDE from any windows shortcut. The target exe was not found.

I recovered by downloading a fresh installer and running. But now this has happened two more times, and it seems like my update process is broken completely. I’m not aware of any major system or config changes that would have led to this. Each time, the update simply bricks my install. I’ve not noticed a consistent error, this last time I don’t even know if I got an error dialogue.

In trying to get version number I’ve noticed the issue is more nuanced. The start menu shortcut does not work if simply clicked, but after launching via “New Window” (which did work), the issue seems to have resolved itself (this doesn’t change the installer failing part).

Steps to Reproduce

Click ‘Install Update’ in the lower left toast notification of Cursor IDE. Try to open via existing taskbar or start menu shortcuts.

Expected Behavior

Clean system update, cursor re-opens windows after update.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.5.33 (system setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: aac81804b986d739acab348ed96b8bea6e83cc50
Date: 2026-05-22T06:47:48.039Z
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: Windows_NT x64 10.0.22621

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

[Tom_Coustols]

Hey @novology, sorry this has been happening to you recently, it’s a known issue with the current windows installer, the solution you found (downloading the executor from the web interface is currently a stable working fix), the issue is due to windows installer, but team is already trying to find a stable solution, tho, for now, what you can do is switch the update mode that cursor use, so that you won’t be disturbed via automatic update, to do so, you can do the following :
or follow the screenshot (open the IDE, cursor settings, in the left bar VS Code Settings, and search for update.mode, and select something else than what is there)

-Open your settings JSON (Ctrl+Shift+P → “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)”) and add:

"update.mode": "start"

-This applies updates when you manually restart Cursor instead of during the risky shutdown path that keeps breaking. If you want even more control, “manual” or “none” work too.
-The root cause is a known Windows updater bug where file locks during the install step can corrupt the install. The team is working on a proper fix. In the meantime, "update.mode": "start" should stop it from happening again.

[novology]

Oh amazing, thank you.
I was expecting to be told the problem was me and this never happens - been pulling my hair out, nice to be validated. Quickly too.

Good luck with the fix, thanks for the work-around team.

(Had to laugh, of course it’s something Windows related That said - looking forward to some kind of automatic updates on Linux!)

[mohitjain (Mohit)]

As @Tom_Coustols mentioned, this is a known bug with the Windows auto-updater. The team is actively working on a fix.

Changing update.mode to "start" or "manual" is the best workaround for now to prevent this from recurring. If the install breaks again, a fresh installer from cursor.com/downloads will get you back up and running right away.