# Speed difference between Cursor IDE vs CLI

**URL:** <https://forum.cursor.com/t/speed-difference-between-cursor-ide-vs-cli/155103>\
**Category:** Help\
**Tags:** cli, performance\
**Created:** [March 18, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/speed-difference-between-cursor-ide-vs-cli/155103 "2026-03-18T00:15:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MarceloDiani](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/marcelodiani/32/72127_2.png) [@MarceloDiani](https://forum.cursor.com/u/MarceloDiani)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 12:15am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/speed-difference-between-cursor-ide-vs-cli/155103/1 "2026-03-18T00:15:57Z")

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It really disturbs me at night thinking that Cursor IDE is extremelly slow compared to CLI. Isnt there a way to make IDE faster?

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**Author:** ![deanrie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/deanrie/32/1263_2.png) [@deanrie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/deanrie)\
**Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/speed-difference-between-cursor-ide-vs-cli/155103/3 "2026-03-21T10:40:58Z")

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Hey, can you clarify what exactly feels slower? Is it the AI agent response speed, applying edits to files, or the overall UI responsiveness?

CLI is naturally lighter since there’s no GUI, extensions, or editor overhead. But you can tune the IDE:

1. Check extensions. Run `cursor --disable-extensions` in Terminal and compare. Extensions are often the main cause of slowdowns.
2. Add heavy folders like `dist/`, `build/`, `node_modules/`, etc. to `.cursorignore`.
3. Open Extension Monitor: Settings \> Application \> Experimental \> Extension Monitor Enabled, then `Cmd+Shift+P` or `Ctrl+Shift+P` and run `Developer: Open Extension Monitor`. Check what’s using resources.

Also share your Cursor version and OS. That’ll help if the standard steps don’t fix it.