Set editor as default window

Hey ever since i updated to
Version: 3.3.16
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 7f0f522221d0ba220e4edb766bb3c47c08c14ab0
Date: 2026-05-06T20:40:56.501Z
Layout: glass
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.3.0

i am stuck with the agents view as default, how do i get the editor(IDE) to be the default view again?

+1 same problem here, idk how I can get Editor as default startup window. Cursor always start Agents but I dont want this.

Same here i can’t get editor as default.

it’s actually a weird behavior on 1 of my computer it’s open the last opened project in the last mode but on the other one it’s always open the agent view

Same here, what the hell? Nobody wants agent mode, stop forcing it on us. We need to be able to get original Editor Mode back easily.

For those suffering here is a hack: Start cursor with

cursor . --classic

This is so incredibly annoying on so many levels.

Cursor often gets to a point where I have to force quit it because it consumes too much memory. And when I do and I try to reopen it, it opens it back to the agents window which is completely useless but that’s beside the point (I mean, I have claude code and codex I’m not going to pay cursor their crazy amount of money that they would charge for API based usage for what I can get for a lot less directly from CC or OA
).

So then I click Editor window again, but it completely forgets the state that the app was in. All of my open tabs, everything is completely lost. So dumb.

Same overe hereI don’t want to use this stupid “Agent only / glass mode” either; I just want the Editor. The Agent is being pushed so aggressively everywhere and it’s incredibly annoying - I absolutely do NOT want this “Cursor Glass” layout. It’s terrible. I pay a lot of money for Cursor every month.

If I wanted something like that, I’d use Codex or Claude Code. I’m not choosing Cursor for this experience.

Thanks for reporting this, and to everyone else in the thread experiencing the same thing.

Right now, there’s no setting to make the Editor window the default on launch. The team is aware of this gap and is actively looking into this.

Until then, a few options:

  • Shift+Cmd+N (Mac) or Shift+Ctrl+N (Windows/Linux) to open the Editor window

  • Command Palette > Open or Focus Editor Window

  • Launch from terminal with cursor . --classic to skip the Agents Window entirely

We’ll update this thread once we have more updates to share.

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor CLI

Describe the Bug

Since a recent update the cursor . command inside a folder from my terminal no longer opens the folder in editor mode, it just defaults to the agents window every time. I also tried cursor editor . with the same problem.

Cursor 3.3.27

Steps to Reproduce

Run cursor . command inside a folder on Mac

Expected Behavior

It opens the editor mode with the current folder loaded

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.3.27
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 80b138a7a0a948e1a798e9ed7867d76a1ba9a310
Date: 2026-05-08T02:26:22.498Z
Layout: glass
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 23.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

We’ve received the feedback. Following up on that, version 3.3.30 adds a new “Open Agents Window on startup” toggle in Cursor Settings > Agents. Turn it off to launch into the Editor by default.

To get the update: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P > Attempt Update, then restart Cursor.

If you don’t see the toggle after updating, the workarounds from my earlier reply still work: Shift+Cmd+N (Mac) / Shift+Ctrl+N (Windows/Linux) to open the Editor, or launch from terminal with cursor . --classic. The update is rolling out gradually, so it may take a bit to reach everyone.

My job is still to write and read code and I speak to robots occasionally whenever I need to :pensive_face:.

Who guessed that by typing ‘cursor .’ in my repo’s terminal I would have liked to open an agents window, press ‘editor window’ and select manually the repo I’ve just typed the command from? :pensive_face:

Thanks for the workaround, waiting for 3.3.30 to be available for me and using —classic until then :folded_hands:t2:

Cursor 3.3.30

Agents → Open Agents Window on startup is unchecked

cursor . still opens Agents window instead of an Editor.

cursor . --classic

works but would like to have a configuration so that I can set it as default. I hate that they did this.

this is broken :frowning: I turn off the toggle and i still am stuck with the agents when i open cursor

edit:
not broken, you have to switch the toggle off, move to the editor, close the agents and then close the editor, on next open editor opens by default.

On window latest update doesn’t add the option to select default window yet @mohitjain

A few notes on the issues raised since the toggle announcement.

cursor . from terminal : The startup toggle controls what opens when you launch Cursor from the dock or app icon. cursor . from terminal currently uses a separate path and opens the Agents Window regardless of the toggle. We’re aware of this gap. For now, use cursor . --classic to open the Editor with your folder loaded.

Toggle not taking effect immediately: The toggle applies on the next fresh launch. Turn it off, fully quit Cursor (Cmd+Q on Mac, Alt+F4 on Windows), then reopen. You shouldn’t need to manually switch windows first, but if the toggle doesn’t stick after a restart, try the sequence @sxcq1222ssc described (turn off toggle, switch to Editor, close all Cursor windows, reopen).

Windows availability: The update is rolling out gradually and should reach everyone within the next few days. Until then, cursor . --classic or Shift+Ctrl+N after launch will get you to the Editor.

running version:
CursorUserSetup-x64-3.4.20

Still don’t see this option in the above screenshot, am i missing something here?

No you’re not missing anything, that was likely a beta feature tested on a small set of users

I hate this feature, it should be give me an option to choose whether editor window or agent window, that drive me crazy

why would you force agent without adding an option to disable? pretty annoying.

Same issue here:
Clicking the “Open Editor Window” button on an agent now focuses an already-open editor window — often one belonging to a different, unrelated workspace or a stale worktree from a previous agent — instead of opening a new editor window for the current agent’s workspace. This makes it impossible to work with multiple agents in parallel, each in its own editor window, which used to work fine.

Expected behavior

  • Each agent’s “Open Editor Window” opens a dedicated editor window for that agent’s workspace/worktree.

  • Multiple agents → multiple editor windows side by side, one per agent.

Actual behavior

  • The action reuses whichever existing window VS Code’s window manager picks first, often unrelated to the agent I clicked from.

  • The only documented workaround is to close other editor windows, which defeats the multi-agent workflow entirely.

Impact

  • Multi-agent / multitask mode is effectively unusable for parallel work.

  • Workflow regression vs. previous versions where each agent reliably opened its own editor window.

Requests

  1. Restore previous behavior: each agent opens its own editor window.

  2. Or add a setting (e.g. cursor.agent.openEditorIn: "newWindow" | "reuse") so users can opt in.

  3. At minimum, “Open Editor Window” should never focus a workspace unrelated to the agent.

Environment

  • Version: 3.4.20

    VSCode Version: 1.105.1

    Commit: 0cf8b06883f54e26bb4f0fb8647c9500ccb43310

    Date: 2026-05-15T02:26:10.351Z (4 days ago)

    Layout: glass

    Build Type: Stable

    Release Track: Default

    Electron: 39.8.1

    Chromium: 142.0.7444.265

    Node.js: 22.22.1

    V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0

    OS: Darwin arm64 25.4.0

  • OS: macOS 25.4.0