Hey @adangnzlz, thanks for the detailed write-up and screenshot. Here’s some more info on the new context usage breakdown we recently shipped.
The tools bucket contains the serialized definitions (name + description + JSON parameter schema) of Cursor’s built-in agent tools — Read, Write, Edit, Shell, Grep, Task, etc. We send those to the model on every turn, so the agent knows what it can call, which is why they show up before you’ve typed anything.
MCP tools live in a different bucket. MCP server tools are tracked under a separate “MCP” category, not “Tools.” So having no plugins and deactivating MCPs wouldn’t lower the “Tools” number — those two buckets count entirely different things.
Why your teammate’s number is lower a gap that size between two people on the same project is not small, but it could be explained by the following:
- Different Cursor version — we roll new and refined tools out gradually, so different builds can have meaningfully different toolsets. Worth comparing
Cursor → About Cursoron both machines. - Different agent mode — Agent mode ships the full toolset; Ask is much leaner. If their screenshot was from Ask, that alone could explain most of the gap.
For background, this breakdown UI shipped in Cursor 3.3 and is documented here — it’s surfacing prompt overhead that’s always been there, just newly visible.
If you’re still concerned, you can send a screenshot from your teammates Cursor instances (as well as the respective versions that you’re both on) and we can take a closer look if you’d like.