Screen flash in cursor cli in ubuntu linux 24.04

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor CLI

Describe the Bug

sometimes cursor cli screen flashes as it is active working, it is not always, but once flash starts happening, its difficult to work with. It becomes stable on its own.

Steps to Reproduce

I don’t know the exact steps to trigger this

Operating System

Linux

Version Information

About Cursor CLI

CLI Version 2026.08.11-e8db854
Model Cursor Grok 4.6 High Fast
Subscription Tier Pro
OS linux (x64)
Terminal alacritty
Shell bash
User Email [email protected]

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - with this issue difficult.

5

Hey, thanks for the report and the video.

This is a known issue we’re tracking. In some cases the CLI redraws the whole screen several times in a row, which causes the flicker. The fact that it “calms down on its own” also matches this pattern. It’s not related to your setup.

A couple quick notes:

  • There’s no instant flag right now that can stop the flicker in the middle of a session.
  • Rendering improvements come with CLI updates, so please keep cursor-agent up to date using cursor-agent update.

To help us narrow down the trigger, did you notice what happens right before the flicker starts? For example resizing the terminal window, tiling in a window manager, switching themes, or toggling compact mode with Ctrl+O. If you can link the flash to one of these actions, that would help a lot.

I can’t share an ETA yet, but I’ll post here if there’s an update.

11

Hey @guruhegde,

Thanks for the report and the video.

One thing that should reduce the flickering: the CLI does a full screen repaint when the output area it’s actively updating becomes taller than the terminal window. That matches what you described. It starts while the agent is working, and settles down when it finishes.

What helps:

  • Give the terminal more height, for example maximize the Alacritty window, especially before long tasks.
  • Keep compact mode enabled. It’s on by default, and Ctrl+O toggles it, so long thinking and tool blocks stay collapsed.

If it still flickers even with a taller window, let me know about how tall the window was and what was on screen when it started. That’ll help narrow it down.

This is a known issue we’re tracking. I can’t share an ETA yet, but I’ll post here if there’s an update. Also, just in case, keep cursor-agent up to date with cursor-agent update.