Project Cloud VM goes IDLE: Reconnect cannot restore file tree, terminals, or Open in Desktop

[Chris_Nguyen]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

• Cloud Agents & Automations (Agents dashboard, scheduled/event)

Describe the Bug

After a Project Cloud Agent turn completes, the Project VM goes IDLE. Reconnect and Open in Desktop on that Project row do not wake the VM or restore the editor tunnel (cursor-server / Cloud Desktop). The client retries indefinitely (“Starting Remote Server…” / “Reconnect failed. The workspace is still disconnected.”) instead of failing closed.

This is a Cursor product limit on Project coordinator editor attach — not a broken repo install or harness misconfiguration. Reporter is on a Mac (not iPad).

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a Cursor Project in Cursor Desktop (example: DOTFILES_HARNESS, run bc-708f62d1-e3fd-4f33-bc0a-621d54a9c83d).
2. Wait for the coordinator turn to finish; Project status becomes IDLE.
3. Click Reconnect or Open in Desktop on that Project row.
4. Editor stays Disconnected; Project VM file tree and terminals never attach.

Expected Behavior

Either: (a) Reconnect / Open in Desktop wakes the Project VM and exposes a live cursor-server URL, or (b) the client fails within a bounded timeout with a clear message (e.g. “Project VM is idle — cannot attach editor”) instead of unbounded retry.

What still works while Disconnected

• Project chat, notes, and Agent Store
• GitHub PR review / merge in browser
• Child Cloud Agents on separate VMs

What does not work

• Project VM file tree
• Project VM terminals
• Open in Desktop on the Project coordinator row while IDLE

Additional context

• Verified live 2026-09-12: Project install succeeded; control-plane start-logs empty; status RUNNING → IDLE within minutes; client GetCursorServerUrl returns EXEC_DAEMON_NOT_READY / “cursor-server port is not exposed yet” while idle.
• Staff note (Kevin Neilson, Aug 2026): Cloud Desktop/Terminal “only work on an agent that’s currently running” and the client retries instead of failing closed — Remote Cloud Server Issues.
• Project run: https://cursor.com/agents/bc-708f62d1-e3fd-4f33-bc0a-621d54a9c83d

Product ask

Bind Open-in-Desktop to a RUNNING child’s VM, or keep the Project VM editor-ready while idle, or fail fast when the machine is off — so users are not stuck clicking Reconnect for hours.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

• Sometimes — I can sometimes use Cursor (chat/PRs work; Project editor attach does not)

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and the run ID. It helped me quickly trace what’s happening.

This isn’t really about the Project going Idle. Idle agents usually sleep and wake up on reconnect, so Reconnect and Open in Desktop should work on an idle Project. In your case, the machine behind this Project never opened the port for the editor connection from the very start, so any reconnect was going to fail no matter if the status showed Running or Idle. Chat, notes, and child agents keep working because they don’t use that connection.

This is a known issue we’re tracking, and I’ve attached your report to it. I fully agree about failing fast. Right now the client can’t tell “not ready yet” from “won’t ever be ready” in this scenario, and I’ve passed that to the team. I can’t share a timeline yet, but I’ll post here if there’s an update.

For now, the only workaround is to start a fresh Project since it gets a new machine. Your other agents should attach normally, so the new Project should come up too. If the new Project also gets stuck on Starting Remote Server, send its run ID here and we’ll take a separate look.

[mubshrx (Mubashir Hassan)]

Hey, I started a brand new project and I can chat with the projects main agent and sub-agents and I can access the remote desktop and use it.

But I can not access Files and Terminals both in main project agent and sub-agents. It keeps loading and loading. On the top right it “Starting remote server…” keeps spinning.

Version

Version: 3.20.21
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: f09fca384ceca23f7bf21f9c23655b162641d740
Date: 2026-09-13T19:02:51.781Z
Layout: Agent Window
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Nightly
Electron: 42.10.0
Chromium: 148.0.7778.280
Node.js: 24.18.1
V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.291
OS: Darwin arm64 25.6.0

Run IDs

Main Project: bc-261a4311-295a-4f87-9344-ea6a3edd7cc9
Sub-agent: bc-98443dbb-ef4d-5994-81c1-ffe7d040b4bd

[mubshrx (Mubashir Hassan)]

I thought this was broken just for Projects agents.

But now I started a new simple cloud agent (outside of any project) and I am facing the same issue.

I can talk to agent, access remote desktop.

But I can not access Files and Terminals.

Seeing that “Starting remote server…” on top right.

Run ID: bc-14f0acfe-baba-4673-b490-399ebaf43431

[mubshrx (Mubashir Hassan)]

Stand-alone cloud agent (Run ID: bc-14f0acfe-baba-4673-b490-399ebaf43431) seems to be working fine from the Web UI.

While the Projects and it’s agents are not visible from the Web UI at all.

@deanrie

[TonyCanuck (Tony D)]

### Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?
- Cursor Projects / Cloud Agents
- Specifically: Desktop editor attach to a Project coordinator VM (remote workspace / files / terminals tunnel)
- Not: chat, Project Notes, Agent Store, child Cloud Agents, or self-hosted “My Machines” workers

### Cursor version
[PASTE: Cursor → About Cursor — full Version / Commit / Date / Electron / OS line]

### Operating system
- macOS on Apple Silicon (MacBook Air used for this Project chat; Mac Studio also on the account as a self-hosted worker)
- Exact macOS version: [PASTE from About This Mac, e.g. 15.x / Darwin arm64]

### Describe the Bug
While working in Cursor Desktop on Project “12v.Biz”, the Project workspace shows **Disconnected**.

Clicking **Reconnect** fails. Toast:

> Reconnect failed. The workspace is still disconnected.

Retry / Try again does not recover the editor attach.

At the same time:
- Project chat continues to work
- Project Notes / Context continue to work
- Child Cloud Agents continue to work (we opened PRs, watched CI, etc.)
- The Project agent control-plane status remained **RUNNING** (not archived / not killed)
- A separate self-hosted Mac Studio worker (`studio`, repo 12vBiz/12vbiz-ios) remained connected

So this is **not** “the Project died” and **not** “My Machines worker dropped”. It looks like the **Desktop ↔ Project VM editor tunnel** (`cursor-server` / remote workspace attach) is broken or never ready, while the agent control plane stays up.

This matches the known issue class discussed here (editor tunnel / `GetCursorServerUrl` / `EXEC_DAEMON_NOT_READY` / fail-closed reconnect), including staff notes that chat/notes/children can work without that tunnel:
https://forum.cursor.com/t/project-cloud-vm-goes-idle-reconnect-cannot-restore-file-tree-terminals-or-open-in-desktop/171406

### Steps to Reproduce
1. Open Cursor Desktop.
2. Open Project **12v.Biz** (linked cloud env for `github.com/12vBiz/12vBiz`).
3. Use it normally for a while: Project chat, Notes, spawn child Cloud Agents, open/merge PRs.
4. Observe the Project workspace header flip to **Disconnected** (orange), with a **Reconnect** button.
5. Click **Reconnect**.
6. Observe toast: **“Reconnect failed. The workspace is still disconnected.”**
7. Click **Try again** on the toast — same failure.
8. Confirm chat + Notes still work; confirm agent URL still shows the run alive.

### Expected Behavior
One of:
1. **Reconnect** reattaches the Project VM remote workspace (file tree + terminals) while the agent is RUNNING, or
2. If the editor tunnel cannot be established, fail **fast** with a clear message (e.g. “Editor tunnel unavailable / cursor-server not exposed”) instead of an unbounded / useless Reconnect loop, and tell the user which surfaces still work (chat/notes).

### Actual Behavior
- Banner stays **Disconnected**
- Toast: **Reconnect failed. The workspace is still disconnected.**
- File tree / terminals / normal “Open in Desktop” style editor attach do not recover
- Chat + Project Notes remain usable
- Agent run remains RUNNING on the control plane

### What still works while Disconnected
- Project chat with the coordinator agent
- Project Notes / Context (Agent Store)
- Child Cloud Agents on separate VMs (example: fix PR work for app issue #4751 → PR #4785 merged)
- GitHub via `gh` from the agent side
- Self-hosted Mac Studio worker listing as connected

### What does not work
- Project VM remote workspace reconnect from Desktop
- Reliable files/terminals attach for this Project coordinator
- “Reconnect” / “Try again” recovery

### IDs / links (for staff)
- Project / coordinator run: https://cursor.com/agents/bc-70624c29-fc07-4b4a-9b6a-0f79c9259d8b
- bcId: `bc-70624c29-fc07-4b4a-9b6a-0f79c9259d8b`
- Run source: `desktop`
- Run visibility: user
- Repo: https://github.com/12vBiz/12vBiz
- Cloud environment name: `12vBiz/12vBiz` (personal)
- Environment public id: `8a048bd8-a0ab-11f1-b532-320a589b8025`
- Environment version public id: `78a499ac-a0b1-11f1-b532-320a589b8025`
- Environment dashboard: https://cursor.com/dashboard/cloud-agents/environments/e/8a048bd8-a0ab-11f1-b532-320a589b8025
- Build/snapshot at session start: `bld-20260916-25fb614a-1bc0-436e-b2c6-b7ce36d8bd73` (gitSetup=reuse, warmFork=cold)
- Agent-side status check while Desktop showed Disconnected: **RUNNING**, `isArchived=false`, `isKilled=false`, `usePrivateWorker=false`
- Approximate first noticed: 2026-09-16 ~23:32 UTC (screenshot timestamp in Desktop UI)
- Screenshot: Disconnected banner + reconnect-failed toast over Project Notes for “12v.Biz”

### Request ID
[PASTE if available: Chat sidebar … → Copy Request ID around the reconnect failure]
(Connectivity bugs are often debuggable without Share Data, per Cursor docs.)

### Console errors (optional)
[PASTE if checked: Help → Toggle Developer Tools → Console errors around Reconnect]

### Impact
- Does not fully stop Cursor: chat/PRs still work
- Blocks using the Project coordinator’s remote files/terminals from Desktop
- Makes “Reconnect” look broken / infinite rather than explaining editor-tunnel failure
- Same class as other Project Cloud VM reconnect reports already on this thread

### Product ask
Please attach this run ID to the existing known issue. Prefer:
1. Reliable editor-tunnel attach for RUNNING Project VMs, and/or
2. Fail-closed UX when `cursor-server` is not exposed (clear message + no dead Reconnect loop)

### Does this stop you from using Cursor?
Sometimes — chat/Notes/child agents work; Project editor attach / Reconnect does not.

[deanrie]

@mubshrx:

Thanks for the run IDs, that made everything line up right away. From the screenshots I can see it stuck on “Starting remote server…” and that’s the same class of issue as in this thread.

All three agents, the Project agent, its worker, and the standalone agent, start from the same cloud environment. On that environment, the machine isn’t opening the port the editor uses for Files and Terminals. Chat and Desktop keep working because they use a different connection, so everything looks fine in the Web UI. Creating a new Project or a new agent won’t help here since they all fork from the same environment.

This workaround should help. In the Cursor dashboard, open Cloud Agents > Environments, pick the environment for uaecrediblex/paabo.com, then on its page open Configure and turn off Environment Builds. Agents on that environment will take a bit longer to start, but Files and Terminals should come up. After switching it, start a new agent. Existing agents keep the old machine. If you don’t see that toggle, reply here.

One more detail. The Files and Terminals panel in a Project is always tied to the main Project agent, not the selected worker tab. So the worker tab won’t show its own files there, that’s expected.

We’re tracking the issue and I passed your run IDs to the team. About Projects not showing in the Web UI, can you share if you don’t see them on cursor.com/agents after a page refresh, or you can’t find them anywhere at all? I’ll check that separately.

---

@TonyCanuck:

Thanks for the report and the run ID.

Your case is a bit different from the one at the start of the thread. Your Project machine did open the port for the editor connection, the workspace was connected for a while, then the machine-side connection changed and the desktop kept trying to restore the old session instead of opening a new one. That’s why Reconnect and Try again fail instantly, while chat, Notes, and child agents keep working.

When this happens, run Reload Window. Cmd+Shift+P then “Developer: Reload Window” and the workspace should connect on the first try. A fix so Reconnect does this for you is coming in one of the next releases.

If reload doesn’t help, share your Cursor version from Cursor > About Cursor and the time it happened, and I’ll take another look.