Repeatedly crashing after every prompt

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

The app keeps crashing everytime I run a new task. It’s been like this for about a week now. I am running mac os with a node API and Xcode plus the react-nativ frontend. It could be some ports that are clashing or something but the app just crashes then asks me to reopen after almost every prompt I send. It’s really annoying. I have the latest updates and my machine is a mac book pro m4

Steps to Reproduce

type a prompt and wait

Expected Behavior

should not crash the app when running multiple apps and servers on my machine

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 2.5.20 (Universal)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 511523af765daeb1fa69500ab0df5b6524424610
Date: 2026-02-19T20:41:31.942Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.4.0
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.0
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.2.0

For AI issues: which model did you use?

Auto

Additional Information

I am paying $200 a month

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

2026-02-21 14:22:40.254 [info] updateURL https://api2.cursor.sh/updates/api/update/darwin-universal/cursor/2.5.20/b7d3f1f73aeb6e4f8e03e559f821ea000fc2abc119417d1b331c0e369fdeceb7/stable
2026-02-21 14:22:40.267 [info] update#setState idle
2026-02-21 14:22:40.910 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 14:22:45.387 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 14:23:08.114 [info] update#setState checking for updates
2026-02-21 14:23:08.637 [info] UpdateService onUpdateNotAvailable()
2026-02-21 14:23:08.637 [info] update#setState idle
2026-02-21 15:11:34.983 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 15:12:09.096 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 15:18:35.606 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 15:18:39.291 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 15:24:19.532 [info] update#setState checking for updates
2026-02-21 15:24:20.028 [info] UpdateService onUpdateNotAvailable()
2026-02-21 15:24:20.028 [info] update#setState idle
2026-02-21 15:46:11.484 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 15:46:11.800 [info] Extension host with pid 15885 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 15:46:11.802 [info] Extension host with pid 15884 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 15:46:11.802 [info] Extension host with pid 15785 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 15:46:16.698 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 15:53:15.176 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 15:53:24.000 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 16:03:55.666 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 16:04:00.160 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 16:04:04.278 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 16:04:04.574 [info] Extension host with pid 84317 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:04:04.575 [info] Extension host with pid 84316 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:04:04.575 [info] Extension host with pid 84314 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:04:12.709 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 16:10:22.722 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 16:10:23.002 [info] Extension host with pid 23868 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:10:23.003 [info] Extension host with pid 23867 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:10:23.003 [info] Extension host with pid 23865 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:10:31.548 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 16:12:51.222 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 16:12:53.231 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 16:21:30.854 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 16:21:31.142 [info] Extension host with pid 37757 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:21:31.143 [info] Extension host with pid 37756 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:21:31.143 [info] Extension host with pid 37754 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:21:37.744 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 16:22:19.071 [info] update#setState checking for updates
2026-02-21 16:22:19.553 [info] UpdateService onUpdateNotAvailable()
2026-02-21 16:22:19.553 [info] update#setState idle
2026-02-21 16:28:28.394 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 16:28:28.686 [info] Extension host with pid 62339 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:28:28.686 [info] Extension host with pid 62338 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:28:28.687 [info] Extension host with pid 62334 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 16:28:40.803 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 16:50:35.047 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 16:50:42.046 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 16:52:59.626 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 16:53:12.949 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 16:54:10.587 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 16:54:14.323 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 17:07:19.847 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 17:07:30.341 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 17:08:54.881 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 17:11:16.741 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 17:12:00.958 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 17:14:40.892 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 17:19:23.715 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 17:20:49.574 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false
2026-02-21 17:22:49.903 [info] update#setState checking for updates
2026-02-21 17:22:50.404 [info] UpdateService onUpdateNotAvailable()
2026-02-21 17:22:50.404 [info] update#setState idle
2026-02-21 17:25:44.734 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 17:25:45.043 [info] Extension host with pid 77415 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:25:45.044 [info] Extension host with pid 77414 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:25:45.045 [info] Extension host with pid 77410 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:27:06.378 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 17:35:02.580 [error] CodeWindow: renderer process gone (reason: crashed, code: 5)
2026-02-21 17:35:02.875 [info] Extension host with pid 4115 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:35:02.876 [info] Extension host with pid 4114 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:35:02.876 [info] Extension host with pid 4109 exited with code: 0, signal: unknown.
2026-02-21 17:35:08.940 [info] [CursorProclistService] Config enabled feature (subsample every 10s)
2026-02-21 17:39:10.917 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: true
2026-02-21 17:43:46.746 [info] [Tray] getMacOSIconPath: hasNotifications: false

1 Like
3

Hey, thanks for the report and logs. I’m seeing 7 renderer crashes with code: 5 in a single session, and that’s a lot.

Here’s what to try and check:

  1. Check long chats
    The most common cause of repeated renderer crashes on macOS is an overloaded chat history. If you’ve been having long conversations with the agent without starting new chats, that’s likely the cause. Workaround:
  • Close all open chats
  • Start a new empty chat
  • Fully quit Cursor (not just closing the window) and reopen it

Related thread where this was the root cause: Memory Leak [Probably]

  1. Check the DevTools Console for OTEL errors
    CMD + Shift + P > Developer: Toggle Developer Tools > Console tab. Look for lines like [otel.error] or OTLPExporterError. If you see them, it’s a known memory leak that can make the renderer memory grow over time.

  2. Check extensions
    Run cursor --disable-extensions in Terminal and see if the crashes still happen. This helps rule out extensions as the cause.

  3. Monitor memory
    CMD + Shift + P > Developer: Open Process Explorer. Watch the renderer process memory right before a crash. If it grows above 3 to 4 GB, that confirms an OOM.

The team is aware of renderer OOM issues on macOS. Let me know what you find from these checks and we can go from there.

4

Hey Dean,

Ok thanks for the information. I’ve restarted the app and cleared the previous chat and no issues so far. I’ll let you know how I get on

1 Like
5

Good day - will I still be bale to retain context of previous chats if I start a new chat? the reason I maintain the same chat is that I am working on a sizeable project and have built up quite a history of the project within the chat?

6

This is still occuring for me. I have closed all chats other than the current one, archived them all, and come from a cold restart of Cursor. A single prompt to investigate a test failure results in memory oscillating between 500MB-1.8GB most of the time, with memory reclamation happening pretty frequently as the model returns step summaries and hides the running narrative. However at some point, it spikes well over 4GB and crashes with an error 5. The memory grows very quickly over the course of a single conversation turn!

I do see [otel.error] in the console. I currently have all of my extensions and plugins disabled to attempt to isolate this.

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7

I have found a … workaround?

If you leave the developer tools open on the side, it will pause Cursor in the debugger just before an OOM. Waiting ~10-20s before clicking resume in the dev tools allows it to continue. During that time, activity monitor shows CPU usage in the renderer spike, then come down - maybe GC? Also during that time, I’ve seen memory usage spike to 9-10GB!

This is still an interruption, but less so than losing the whole render process, which loses connection to the model call and any ongoing work.

9

My workaround has not been working well over the last day. Closing and archiving all chats has not alleviated the issue. I am going to export the key old chats, and try to clean up the chat history entirely.