I am not reporting this as a bug because I’m not sure if it’s a me/settings issue, although I suspect it is a bug (it is definitely bugging annoying)
Large numbers of pending “diff approvals” when opening a project after closing window, even closing entire machine/laptop, switching branches, even though git status is clean. The diffs compare the current files to outdated versions from before the branch and PR existed.
Generalized workflow when it occurs:
- Work with Agent to design and implement changes.
- Accept/approve the changes in Cursor.
- Commit, push, and merge via pull request.
- Close all Cursor windows (and optionally close the laptop).
- Work on something else.
- Fetch and switch to a different branch.
- Reopen the project in Cursor.
Result: Cursor opens with many pending diff approvals across multiple files. The “old” side shows versions from before the PR, not the prior state of the branch.
Expected: No diff approvals, since the changes were already approved/rejected, committed and git status is clean.
Etc. and answers to questions posed in previous similar issues
- Diffs appear as soon as Cursor opens (without opening chat or starting a Plan).
- Agent panel may be open with these diffs visible.
- Diffs remain after closing the Agent panel, deleting the agent chat, and restarting Cursor.
git statusshows no local changes.- Affects multiple file types, definitely
.py,.js,.html, and I believe I’ve seen it on.json,.mdand other text files. - Does not occur every time; pattern or trigger is unclear.
- Was present before the recent update.
Tried
- Closing and reopening Cursor
- Closing/opening laptop (haven’t noticed if it happens or not after a full reboot)
- Deleting agent history
- Toggling “inline diff approval” on and off
- Toggling several other relevant settings
None of these removed the phantom diffs. Approving them one by one is the only reliable way to clear them, with some risk when mass-approving since it’s unclear what is actually changed.
Environment
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| OS etc. | macOS (Darwin arm64 23.6.0); M3; Sonoma 14.6.1 |
| Cursor Version | 2.6.20 (Universal) |
| VSCode Version | 1.105.1 |
| Commit | b29eb4ee5f9f6d1cb2afbc09070198d3ea6ad760 |
| Date | 2026-03-17 |
| Electron | 39.8.1 |
The attached console data was copied immediately after a fresh window open in which the problem was present, I cleared chat history (may have closed and reopened the entire window, don’t remember) and then accepted the changes.
similar issues:
(report generated with assistance from a cursor agent during an occurrence)