UI Bug: Custom views stuck in Primary Side Bar / File Explorer (Reset View Locations not working)

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

The “Claude Code” and “Codex” extension views have become permanently stuck at the bottom of the Primary Side Bar (nested under the File Explorer, Outline, and Timeline). They are acting as sub-sections rather than standalone sidebar icons, and the option to move them back to the Activity Bar is completely missing from the right-click context menu.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install/open the Claude Code and Codex extensions.
  2. Observe them nested inside the Primary Side Bar instead of sitting as standalone icons on the Activity Bar.
  3. Try right-clicking the section headers (only visibility toggle options appear; the “Move to Activity Bar” action is missing).
  4. Run the “Reset View Locations” command from the Command Palette (the UI reloads, but the views remain stuck).
  5. Attempt to drag and drop the headers directly to the Activity Bar (nothing happens).

When opening the extensions they usually pop up in the sidebar and are completely useable, but not after installing update.

Expected Behavior

The extension views should either default to separate standalone icons on the Activity Bar or allow the user to right-click/drag them back to the Activity Bar. Running “Reset View Locations” should force them back to their default layouts.

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.10.17 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.125.0
Commit: c89f45b831621cdc5e951694db44fecd8fab1150
Date: 2026-07-05T06:39:45.228Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
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: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

Hey, thanks for the detailed report with the screenshot and version. It looks like Claude Code and Codex are showing up under File Explorer, Outline, and Timeline without their own icon in the Activity Bar.

This is a known regression in 3.10. Cursor stopped registering the view-container that these extensions use for their panel, so their views fall into Explorer. Reset View Locations won’t help since there’s nowhere to restore the views until the container is registered. For the same reason, drag-and-drop and Move to Activity Bar don’t show up.

Good news, a fix is already done and is rolling out in 3.10.20+. It’s not in 3.10.17 yet.

Until you can update, the temporary workaround is to roll back to 3.9, where everything works like before.

Let me know if you need help updating. There’s also an active thread about the same issue: Codex extension disappeared from UI

Just FYI, downgrading to 3.9 did not fix it for me.

Starting with version 3.10.20, was the issue resolved? Or does it require a version higher than 3.10.20? I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled both Claude and Codex, but Codex doesn’t appear in the side panel, and Claude is only partially loading (displayed on another panel).

Hey, thanks for following up in the thread.

The fix for this regression is included in 3.10.20+. There’s one important detail though. After the fix, the Codex and Claude Code views come back, but they might show up under Explorer instead of as a separate full-height icon in the Activity Bar. They can also appear with a small delay, for some users it’s 1 to 2 minutes after startup.

@Jerry_Hong, since you’re already on 3.10.20, try these in order:

  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P > Codex: New Codex Agent This should bring up the Codex UI directly.
  • Open a new window: File > New Window This forces extension re-registration.
  • Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P > View: Reset View Locations
  • Give Codex and Claude a couple minutes after launch. They may load into Explorer a bit later.

If none of this brings Codex back, please share the exact build: Help > About, Commit field, and what you see right after step 1.

@aplatti, instead of rolling back to 3.9, it’s better to move forward. Update to 3.10.20+ since the fix is already there. If the issue still happens after updating, tell us what you see and try the same steps above.

Let us know how it goes.