Primary Side Bar forgets its position

[alex-vukov]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

After updating Cursor to 2.3.41 the Primary Side Bar position is no longer persisted. When I move it to the left it always returns to the right in every new window.

Steps to Reproduce

Rightclick on the Primary Side Bar and click on “Move Primary Side Bar Left”. Close Cursor IDE and open it again. The bar is again on the right side.

Expected Behavior

The primary side bar should remember its position. This used to work correctly in previous versions.

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.3.41 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 2ca326e0d1ce10956aea33d54c0e2d8c13c58a30
Date: 2026-01-16T19:14:00.150Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 23.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[R4f4 (Rafael Garcia)]

For what is worth. I’m suffering this bug as well and is becoming really annoying. Using Ubuntu and appimage.

[deanrie]

Hey, this is a regression of a bug we already fixed before. Thanks for the report, I’ll pass it to the team.

Temporary workaround: add this to settings.json (CMD + Shift + P > “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)”):

"workbench.sideBar.location": "left"

Another option: open the Command Palette with CMD + Shift + P, then run “View: Toggle Primary Side Bar Position” to force-switch the position.

@R4f4 thanks for confirming on Ubuntu. Let us know if the workaround doesn’t help.

[R4f4 (Rafael Garcia)]

Hi Dean, thanks for answer. For me none of the options works. The settings one never applies and the command one (same as from appearance menu) gets reset every time I open Cursor or change projects.

[Juan_Rodriguez]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Issue: Cursor editor always places the sidebar on the right, even after changing settings

I’m having a persistent issue with the Cursor code editor (VS Code fork). No matter how many times I change the configuration, the project explorer sidebar always appears on the right side when I open the editor. I want it permanently on the left, but it keeps resetting.

I’ve tried multiple methods, none of which work:

Method 1: Keyboard shortcut

Cmd + B (Mac) or Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux)
→ This only toggles visibility, not position.

Method 2: Visual settings

Click View in the top menu

Go to Appearance

Select Primary Side Bar
→ This changes it temporarily, but doesn’t persist across sessions.

Method 3: Persistent configuration in settings.json
Opened the command palette (Cmd + Shift + P / Ctrl + Shift + P)
Ran Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)
Added:

json
{
“workbench.activityBar.location”: “default”,
“workbench.sideBar.location”: “left”,
“workbench.startupEditor”: “none”
}
→ Still resets to the right every time I launch Cursor.

Method 4: Reset view layout
Ran View: Reset View Locations from the command palette
→ No effect. Sidebar still defaults to the right.

This seems to be a bug or a broken persistence issue in Cursor itself. If anyone has a working fix or knows where Cursor stores layout state outside of settings.json, I’d appreciate any help.

Steps to Reproduce

Method 1: Keyboard shortcut

Cmd + B (Mac) or Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux)
→ This only toggles visibility, not position.

Method 2: Visual settings

Click View in the top menu

Go to Appearance

Select Primary Side Bar
→ This changes it temporarily, but doesn’t persist across sessions.

Method 3: Persistent configuration in settings.json
Opened the command palette (Cmd + Shift + P / Ctrl + Shift + P)
Ran Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)
Added:

json
{
“workbench.activityBar.location”: “default”,
“workbench.sideBar.location”: “left”,
“workbench.startupEditor”: “none”
}
→ Still resets to the right every time I launch Cursor.

Method 4: Reset view layout
Ran View: Reset View Locations from the command palette
→ No effect. Sidebar still defaults to the right.

This seems to be a bug or a broken persistence issue in Cursor itself. If anyone has a working fix or knows where Cursor stores layout state outside of settings.json, I’d appreciate any help.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.3.41 (user setup)

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[Juan_Rodriguez]

@deanrie

workbench.sideBar.location

Thanks for replying.

I’ve done this a million times.

And it works!!!

But when I close the editor and reopen it, it reverts to its original configuration, and I have to keep changing it. The logical and expected thing is that once the configuration is saved, the editor should always start with this configuration. “workbench.activityBar.location”: “default”,

“workbench.sideBar.location”: “left”,

“workbench.startupEditor”: “none”

[Juan_Rodriguez]

What I really mean is that it works, but it’s not what I want or expect.
It’s not a fix, and it’s not a solution.

[ishana (Ishan)]

Affecting me as well on WSL: Ubuntu-22.04

[michael-rzero (Michael)]

Same issue affecting me here too.

macOS Tahoe 26.2 (25C56)

[R4f4 (Rafael Garcia)]

There have been multiple updates already and the bug persists. It’s driving me crazy at this point.

Version: 2.4.21
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: dc8361355d709f306d5159635a677a571b277bc0
Date: 2026-01-22T16:57:59.675Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.2.7
Chromium: 142.0.7444.235
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0
OS: Linux x64 6.8.0-90-generic

[CyrusNajmabadi]

Also hitting this. On OSX

Version: 2.4.22

VSCode Version: 1.105.1

Commit: 618c607a249dd7fd2ffc662c6531143833bebd40

Date: 2026-01-26T22:51:47.692Z (1 day ago)

Build Type: Stable

Release Track: Default

Electron: 39.2.7

Chromium: 142.0.7444.235

Node.js: 22.21.1

V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0

OS: Darwin arm64 25.2.0

[afrie]

hi, try this, works for me.

Layout is overwritten by cursor

Hey, I see you already found a solution using CMD+E, nice work. If the issue comes back after a restart or update, try this workaround: In settings.json, add "workbench.sideBar.location": "right" Open the layout menu (in the top-right) Find the “Agent Sidebar” setting and switch it to “Left” These two settings work together. If the primary sidebar is on the right, the agent sidebar should be on the left, and vice versa. After changing it, restart Cursor. More details here: workbench.sideBar…

[R4f4 (Rafael Garcia)]

@Layout is overwritten by cursor

workbench.sideBar.location

Thanks!!! That actually works.

[naama_glauber]

Super annoying! was that solved already? waiting… I was trying a lot (by the agent ) to set it in settings, didn’t work out!

[Renz_Barnedo]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

View > Appearnce > Move Primary Side Bar Left (this one works but I have to do this every single time I open the IDE as it does not save this config)

This does not work in settings.json

“workbench.sideBar.location”: “left”,
}

It’s annoying as hell, I had to report it. Im using macOS.

Steps to Reproduce

View > Appearnce > Move Primary Side Bar Left (this one works but I have to do this every single time I open the IDE as it does not save this config)

This does not work in settings.json

“workbench.sideBar.location”: “left”,
}

It’s annoying as hell, I had to report it. Im using macOS.

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 2.4.28 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: f3f5cec40024283013878b50c4f9be4002e0b580
Date: 2026-02-03T00:56:18.293Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.2.7
Chromium: 142.0.7444.235
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.21-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.5.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

[Mogeli_Lortkipanidze]

Thanks!