Source Control & Agent Review panel shows "Binary file not shown" for text files in git-crypt repositories

[Ilias_Ism]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Source Control & Agent Review panel shows “Binary file not shown” for text files in git-crypt repositories

Steps to Reproduce

1. In a Git repository, initialize git-crypt (git-crypt init).
2. Add * filter=git-crypt diff=git-crypt to .gitattributes.
3. Unlock the repository (git-crypt unlock).
4. Edit any file
5. Open Cursor and navigate to the Source Control panel or the Agent Review / Changes panel.
6. Observe that Cursor displays “Binary file not shown” instead of the text diff.

Expected Behavior

Cursor should inspect the working directory text content or execute the configured Git textconv filter (git-crypt diff), displaying standard text diffs for unlocked files.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.11.19 (Universal)
VS Code Extension API: 1.125.0
Commit: bf249e6efb5b097f23d7e21d7283429f0760b740
Date: 2026-07-12T21:39:24.175Z
Layout: Agent Window
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Nightly
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Darwin arm64 25.5.0

Additional Information

The “Binary file not shown” bug in Cursor specifically happens on existing, tracked files when git-crypt attaches filter=git-crypt diff=git-crypt to modified tracked diffs in .gitattributes. Not for brand-new untracked files.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[Colin]

Hey @Ilias_Ism!

Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been able to reproduce the issue.

Currently, the Agents Window doesn’t provide parity with the IDE in supporting git-crypt diffs, so you may need to fall back to the IDE for now. In the meantime, I’ve reported this as a bug to the team.