# Opening a new chat tab causes previous chat tabs to disappear – can't have multiple chats open simultaneously **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Tags:** layout, chat\ **Created:** [April 14, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/opening-a-new-chat-tab-causes-previous-chat-tabs-to-disappear-cant-have-multiple-chats-open-simultaneously/157658 "2026-04-14T17:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Luisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@Luisa](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Luisa)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/opening-a-new-chat-tab-causes-previous-chat-tabs-to-disappear-cant-have-multiple-chats-open-simultaneously/157658/1 "2026-04-14T17:40:24Z")
### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)? Cursor IDE ### Describe the Bug When opening a new chat tab in Cursor IDE, any previously opened chat tabs disappear and become inaccessible. This makes it impossible to keep multiple chat sessions open at the same time. Each new chat overwrites or hides the previous one, so there is no way to switch between concurrent conversations. ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Open Cursor IDE with Layout set to “editor” (chat as editor tabs). 2. Start a new chat (Tab 1) and send a message. 3. Open a second new chat tab using the new chat button. 4. Observe that the first chat tab has disappeared and is no longer accessible from the tab bar. 5. Repeat: opening any new chat tab causes the previous one to vanish. ### Expected Behavior Each new chat tab should open as an additional tab without closing or hiding previously opened chat tabs. Users should be able to keep multiple chats open simultaneously and freely switch between them, just like regular editor tabs in VS Code. ### Operating System MacOS ### Version Information Cursor Version: 3.1.10 VSCode Version: 1.105.1 Commit: dacbe9b31599a253763e4910eb6ab38704653320 Date: 2026-04-13T11:39:16.806Z 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: Darwin arm64 25.3.0 ### Does this stop you from using Cursor Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:38am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/opening-a-new-chat-tab-causes-previous-chat-tabs-to-disappear-cant-have-multiple-chats-open-simultaneously/157658/5 "2026-04-15T04:38:30Z")
Hey, this isn’t a bug, it’s the default behavior. Cursor keeps up to 5 chat tabs open by default, and when you create a new one at the limit, the oldest inactive tab closes automatically. Your chats aren’t lost, you can restore them from history in the Agents sidebar. Fix: increase the limit in Cursor Settings \> Agents \> Max Tab Count. You can pick 10, Unlimited, or set a custom value. Also, if you turn on Open chat as editor tabs in Cursor Settings \> General \> Layout, the tabs are more likely to persist after restart. More details with steps and screenshots: [Chat tabs dissapearing - #5 by Colin](https://forum.cursor.com/t/chat-tabs-dissapearing/156883/5) ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/opening-a-new-chat-tab-causes-previous-chat-tabs-to-disappear-cant-have-multiple-chats-open-simultaneously/157658/6 "2026-04-15T04:39:00Z")
Split this topic on April 15, 2026, 4:39am UTC A post was merged into an existing topic: [Bug: New Chat Tab overwrites/removes other chat tab](https://forum.cursor.com/t/bug-new-chat-tab-overwrites-removes-other-chat-tab/157576) ---
**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/opening-a-new-chat-tab-causes-previous-chat-tabs-to-disappear-cant-have-multiple-chats-open-simultaneously/157658/7 "2026-04-15T04:39:07Z")
Closed on April 15, 2026, 4:39am UTC