Show Panel file tree moved to the right after update — no option to put it back on the left

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

After a recent update, the layout inside Show Panel changed, and there is no way to change it back.

This is NOT about Agents chat being on the left or right.

This is specifically about Show Panel. Before the update, the file tree was on the LEFT inside Show Panel and code was on the RIGHT. After the update, code is on the LEFT and the file tree is on the RIGHT. This is confusing and breaks muscle memory. There is no setting, no menu option, and no way to restore the previous layout.

Please either restore file tree on the left / code on the right inside Show Panel, or add a setting to choose the Show Panel file tree position (Left / Right).

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Agents Window
  2. Open an agent tab
  3. Open Show Panel
  4. Select any project file
  5. Observe code on the left and file tree on the right

Expected Behavior

Inside Show Panel, the file tree should be on the left and code on the right (previous behavior), or users should be able to choose that layout.

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.12.17
Commit: 0fb762053c34788bb7760d5673f8a6d4c8589d50
Date: 2026-07-17T02:53:53.006Z
OS: macOS

For AI issues: which model did you use?

N/A — UI layout issue, not model-related

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

N/A

Additional Information

Also: this kind of change should have been caught before release. Flipping a core layout inside Show Panel with no setting and no notice forces users to spend hours figuring out what changed and then filing tickets. That is not a good use of customer time. Please invest in proper QA for layout/UX regressions instead of shipping breaking UI changes and relying on users to report them after the fact.

5

Hey thanks for the detailed report. Let me break it down. This isn’t a regression. It’s an intentional layout change. In Show Panel in Agents Window the file tree and panels are now always on the right with code on the left. It’s the same as in Diff / PR / Terminal / Browser panels. There’s no setting to choose the side right now. The old option with the tree on the left has been removed from the code so you can’t bring it back through settings.

If you need the classic IDE layout with Explorer on the left open the regular Editor Window. Use File > Open Editor Window or Cmd+Shift+N. It keeps the familiar layout and full panel customization like in VS Code.

I’ve logged your request about a toggle for the file tree position in Show Panel as a feature request. This topic has come up before. There’s a similar thread Agents view: cannot swap editor and file tree order at Agents view: cannot swap editor and file tree order ([Code][Files] stuck; no UI to get [Files][Code]). You can add your vote and details there. I can’t give an ETA on such an option right now.

Let me know if Editor Window works as a temporary solution.