Unable to start IDE using WSL or DevContainers due to installation error

Support Bug Reports
, , ,
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Unable to start IDE using WSL or DevContainers due to installation error.

2026-09-14 07:23:40.044 [error] Failed to patch code.sh launcher: Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, open 'c:\Users\alexj\AppData\Local\Programs\cursor\resources\app\bin\code'
2026-09-14 07:23:40.056 [info] Resolving wsl remote authority 'wsl+ubuntu' (attempt #1)
2026-09-14 07:23:40.297 [info] Installing cursor-server with options: {"id":"2b942ce89922f923db6075e2","commit":"0c32194e3fb5ffaced9fb36430b860ec301e1fc0","line":"production","realCommit":"0c32194e3fb5ffaced9fb36430b860ec301e1fc8","extensionIds":[],"serverApplicationName":"cursor-server","serverDataFolderName":".cursor-server","forceReinstall":true,"killRunningServers":false,"host":"127.0.0.1"}
2026-09-14 07:23:40.738 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: your 131072x1 screen size is bogus. expect trouble
2026-09-14 07:23:40.783 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: wget: unable to resolve host address ‘downloads.cursor.com’
2026-09-14 07:23:40.797 [error] Failed to install Cursor server. Installer script returned code 1. Retrying.
2026-09-14 07:23:40.797 [info] Downloading server from https://downloads.cursor.com/production/0c32194e3fb5ffaced9fb36430b860ec301e1fc8/linux/x64/cursor-reh-linux-x64.tar.gz to C:\Users\alexj\AppData\Local\Temp\cursor-server-1789367020794.tar.gz
2026-09-14 07:23:47.187 [info] Downloaded server locally to: /mnt/c/Users/alexj/AppData/Local/Temp/cursor-server-1789367020794.tar.gz
2026-09-14 07:23:47.483 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: your 131072x1 screen size is bogus. expect trouble
2026-09-14 07:23:50.075 [info] [wsl exec: installServerScript][stderr]: your 131072x1 screen size is bogus. expect trouble
2026-09-14 07:23:52.633 [error] Failed to connect to Cursor server from Windows, attempt 3 of 3 fetch failed
2026-09-14 07:23:52.638 [error] Error installing Cursor server Failed to connect to Cursor server from Windows. Please try rebooting WSL by running "wsl -d ubuntu --shutdown" and then reconnect.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Unsure. It started happening this morning. Open Cursor and a WSL project.

Expected Behavior

It should open Cursor IDE on WSL and Dev Containers.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.20.17 (user setup)
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: 0c32194e3fb5ffaced9fb36430b860ec301e1fc0
Date: 2026-09-12T03:16:10.634Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 42.10.0
Chromium: 148.0.7778.280
Node.js: 24.18.1
V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.291
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

For AI issues: which model did you use?

N/A

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

N/A

Additional Information

Things I’ve tried:

  • Restarting WSL
  • Restarting Windows
  • Increasing WSL memory and CPU allocation
  • Reinstalling Cursor in Windows
  • Clearing old binaries (rm -rf ~/.cursor-server)

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Yes - Cursor is unusable

5

Okay the output from this is misleading. The problem is that there is no internet from WSL. So the bug here imo is this output from Cusor:

Downloaded server locally to: /mnt/c/Users/alexj/AppData/Local/Temp/cursor-server-1789367020794.tar.gz

It hasn’t, because it’s not got any internet connection. ping, get etc all do not work. I’ll solve that separately of course but the CLI shouldn’t say “downloaded” if it hasn’t.

7

Try wsl --update then wsl --shutdown, and if you’re on a VPN or endpoint-security client, disconnect it for a test. That’s the usual cause of WSL suddenly losing DNS/internet. Once WSL can reach the internet again, this resolves on its own.

Quick note on the log: the Downloaded server locally to: /mnt/c/... line is accurate, not a false message. That fallback download runs on Windows (which has a connection), and /mnt/c/Users/alexj/AppData/Local/Temp/... is just WSL’s view of C:\Users\alexj\AppData\Local\Temp\..., so the file really is there. The failure is the next step, where Windows can’t reach the server inside WSL because WSL networking is down.

If it’s still stuck after that, paste cat /etc/resolv.conf from inside WSL and whether you’re on a VPN.

8

Thanks. I fixed this by changing some network settings with WSL. Do you think the message should be improved? Something like “WSL download error. Falling back to downloading on Windows” or something similar?