PNG transparency gets lost when uploading images in chat

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1

Issue: PNG transparency gets lost when uploading images in chat

Hi Cursor team :waving_hand:

I noticed a small but annoying issue when uploading images in the chat.

When I upload a PNG, it seems like Cursor automatically converts it into JPEG (probably for compression). But this ends up removing the transparency (alpha channel), which breaks the asset.

This is especially tricky when working with:

  • UI assets

  • transparent overlays

  • design materials

What I expected:
If the image has transparency, it should stay as PNG instead of being converted.

Possible improvements:

  • Detect alpha channel and skip JPEG conversion

  • Or allow an option to upload images without compression

Not a huge bug, but it definitely impacts design workflows quite a bit :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks!

问题：聊天上传 PNG 图片会丢失透明通道

Hi Cursor 团队 :waving_hand:

我发现一个不算很大，但有点影响体验的问题。

在聊天窗口上传 PNG 图片时，Cursor 似乎会自动把它转成 JPEG（可能是为了压缩）。但这样会导致透明通道（alpha）丢失，素材就被“破坏”了。

在这些场景会比较明显：

  • UI 素材

  • 透明背景图片

  • 设计相关内容

期望行为：
如果图片本身带透明通道，应该保留 PNG 格式，而不是转码。

建议优化：

  • 检测是否有透明通道，有的话不要转 JPEG

  • 或者提供一个「无压缩上传」的选项

不算大问题，但对设计工作流影响还是挺明显的 :slightly_smiling_face:

感谢！

3

Hey, thanks for the detailed report.

To help with the investigation, could you please share:

  1. Your Cursor version (Help > About)
  2. Your OS
  3. If possible, an example: a screenshot of how the uploaded PNG looks in chat so we can see the transparency loss

As a workaround for now, you can use an @ reference to the file instead of drag and drop upload. That way the file doesn’t go through conversion.

Let me know if you need anything else.

4

I am having the same issue. Not all PNG files but most of them. I’ve tried re-exporting them, converting them etc

They still appear solid black.

Version: 3.0.12

VSCode Version: 1.105.1

Version: 3.0.12

VSCode Version: 1.105.1

MacOS Sequoia

5

I have applied the workaround of adding them to the folder directly. Can confirm this appears to hold the transparency.