[macOS 26] Remote-SSH extension prompt loop on every startup — anysphere.remote-ssh installed but ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh ID checked

Support Bug Reports
, ,
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Description
On every Cursor startup, before any remote connection is made, a notification appeared prompting the user to install the Remote - SSH extension:
“Extension ‘Remote - SSH’ is required to open the remote window. Do you want to install the extension?”
Clicking ‘Install and Reload’ installs the extension and reloads Cursor, but the same prompt reappears on the next startup.

Root Cause
Cursor ships its own Remote SSH fork as anysphere.remote-ssh (version 1.0.49 was installed). However, Cursor’s remote window restoration code checks for the Microsoft extension ID ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh instead of its own fork’s ID. On startup, Cursor attempts to restore the last remote session (qualif or prod as defined in remote.SSH.remotePlatform settings) and triggers this check, finding the Microsoft ID absent even though the Anysphere fork is present and functional.

Settings at Time of Issue
“remote.SSH.remotePlatform”: { “qualif”: “linux”, “prod”: “linux” }

Workaround
Clearing Cursor’s saved remote window state (globalStorage) prevented the auto-reconnect on startup and stopped the prompt from appearing. The underlying ID mismatch in the dependency check should be corrected in the remote window restoration code.

Steps to Reproduce

Install Cursor 3.4.17 on macOS 26.3.1, Apple Silicon
Have anysphere.remote-ssh installed (Cursor’s own fork, version 1.0.49)
Have remote SSH hosts configured in settings.json:

json"remote.SSH.remotePlatform": {
“qualif”: “linux”,
“prod”: “linux”
}

Quit and relaunch Cursor
Observe notification before any remote connection is initiated

Expected Behavior

Cursor starts without prompting for any extension installation since anysphere.remote-ssh is already installed and functional.

Actual Behavior
On every startup, before any remote connection is made, this notification appears:

“Extension ‘Remote - SSH’ is required to open the remote window. Do you want to install the extension?”

Clicking “Install and Reload” installs ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh, reloads Cursor, but the prompt reappears on the next startup.

Workaround
Clearing Cursor’s saved remote window state stopped the auto-reconnect and suppressed the prompt:
bashrm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Cursor Version3.4.17OSmacOS 26.3.1 (Build 25D2128)Architecturearm64e (Apple Silicon)anysphere.remote-ssh1.0.49No MCP servers configured—No local projectsAll projects are remote via SSH

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and the workaround, it’s helpful.

This is a known issue in the same category as what was already reported for the WSL and Dev Containers versions of the Agents Window:

I’ll attach the SSH case to the existing tracking. Clearing globalStorage as a temporary workaround is valid, you can use it for now. I can’t share an ETA for the fix yet, I’ll post an update in the thread once I have one.

7

All the fixes and workarounds in this post did not resolve the issue for me. On MAC OS, cursor has become completely unusable. Deleting all the cursor files, etc failed to resolve this.

Additionally, the EverythingProvider fails the network diag, leaving the install in the free plan.

Also running MACOS 26.5 and have been using Cursor for over 1.5 years.

2026-05-17 15:26:29.080 [error] No remote extension installed to resolve ssh-remote.: CodeExpectedError: No remote extension installed to resolve ssh-remote.
at v6f._resolveAuthorityOnExtensionHosts (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:47335:286424)
at async v6f._resolveAuthorityWithLogging (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:47335:285653)
at async v6f._doResolveExtensions (vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:47341:17282)
at async vscode-file://vscode-app/Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/out/vs/workbench/workbench.desktop.main.js:60:97993 No remote extension installed to resolve ssh-remote.

8

Follow up. After deleting all the files in $HOME and using the universal installer, the problem was resolved. The MAC is a M4 but this problem persisted with the ARM installer.

10

@ichor99, glad the universal installer helped, it’s a useful workaround.

This is basically the same bug with Glass root + Remote-SSH mentioned earlier in the thread, and it’s linked to our internal issue. For some users, clearing globalStorage fixes the symptom. In your case, reinstalling via the universal build helped, so the state was probably stored deeper.

If anyone else on macOS 26 on an M-series Mac tried all the workarounds and none worked, please share:

  • The exact Cursor and macOS versions
  • The output from Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console right after startup
  • What exactly you tried deleting in ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor/

No ETA for a fix yet. Once I have an update, I’ll post it in the thread.

12

Hey @kcmadininvest I said I’d come back with an update, so I’m checking in on the thread.

We’re still tracking this issue on our side. It’s the same bug class as the Glass root workspace problem, like the WSL and Dev Containers cases above. I can’t share an exact ETA for a fix yet, but as soon as we have something concrete I’ll post an update here.

For now, these two workarounds are still the best options:

  • Clear saved remote state: rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/User/globalStorage/
  • On M-series Macs, reinstall using the universal installer instead of the ARM build. This helped @ichor99 when clearing globalStorage didn’t.

If you’re on macOS 26 on an M-series Mac and you tried both with no luck, please share your exact Cursor and macOS versions, plus the output from Help > Toggle Developer Tools > Console right after startup, and we’ll take a closer look.