[Issue Description]
When I open the Cursor desktop app and click “Log In,” it successfully opens my browser (both Chrome and Edge) and displays the “All set! Feel free to return to Cursor.” message. However, the desktop app remains on the login screen (showing “Sign Up” / “Log In” buttons) and never transitions to the logged-in state.
[Troubleshooting Already Done]
I have confirmed that my account logs in and works perfectly on other PCs. This issue is specific to this particular Windows machine.
Reinstalled the Cursor app multiple times.
Tried logging in using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge (including Incognito/Private modes).
Restarted my PC.
Temporarily disabled Windows Security (Microsoft Defender Real-time protection), but it did not resolve the issue.
It seems the deep-link authentication callback is not being received by the desktop app on this specific PC. Could you please help me resolve this or provide a manual authentication token/workaround?
Hey, thanks for the detailed report. This is a known issue on Windows: the browser login succeeds, but the cursor:// callback never reaches the desktop app. Most often it’s caused by the Http: Proxy Support setting, which defaults to override and ignores the system proxy.
Try this in order:
Change Http: Proxy Support from override to on
Open settings: Ctrl+Shift+,
In the settings search, type proxy support
Switch Http: Proxy Support from override to on
Restart Cursor and try logging in again
If you can’t reach settings because you’re stuck on the login screen, edit settings.json directly at %APPDATA%\Cursor\User\settings.json and add:
"http.proxySupport": "on"
Check the cursor:// handler. After logging in via the browser, do you see a prompt like “Open cursor:// …”? If not, the handler might not be registered. Run Cursor once as administrator, then try again.
Traffic blockers. If you’re using a VPN, proxy, or something like Zscaler or a corporate filter, temporarily disable it and try logging in again.
Thank you for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I tried all the steps you mentioned (setting `http.proxySupport` to `on` in `settings.json`, running as administrator, and ensuring no VPNs/blockers are active), but the desktop app is still stuck on the login screen.
The browser says “All set!” but it never redirects back to the desktop app. Is there any other manual workaround or diagnostic log I can provide?
Hey, thanks for going through all the steps. Since proxy fix, run as admin, and disabling blockers didn’t help, it’s most likely either that the cursor:// handler isn’t working on this machine, or the install is broken. Let’s narrow it down.
Check if the cursor:// protocol is registered. Paste this link into your browser address bar and press Enter:
cursor://anysphere.cursor/test
If you get an “Open Cursor?” prompt and the app reacts, the handler is there. If nothing happens at all, the callback from the browser has nowhere to go the handler isn’t registered, or it’s being hijacked by another app or an old install.
Grab console logs. After trying to log in, open Help > Toggle Developer Tools or Ctrl+Shift+I, go to the Console tab, and send what errors you see there. Lines mentioning cursor-socket, access token, or auth are especially useful. That’ll show whether the login isn’t reaching the app, or the app just isn’t updating the UI.
Do a full clean reinstall it’s important to delete the profile folders, a normal reinstall won’t touch them:
Fully close Cursor
Uninstall via Windows Settings > Apps
Manually delete these folders make a backup first:
A couple more questions. Is this a work or corporate PC with managed policies MDM or Group Policy? And what exact Cursor version are you on Help > About?
Let me know what you see for steps 1 and 2. The protocol behavior and console logs will make it pretty clear where to dig next.