Describe the Bug
Upon opening Cursor with the chat panel open, I see this error:
Connection failed. If the problem persists, please check your internet connection or VPN
(Request ID: bd85aa10-62c7-4e53-8c35-559c3ebb555b)
However, clicking “Copy Request Info” results in this different text
Request ID: bd85aa10-62c7-4e53-8c35-559c3ebb555b
"{\"details\":{\"title\":\"Cursor Pro Required\",\"detail\":\"Agent and Edit rely on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key. Please use a Pro or Business subscription and/or disable API keys. Ask should still work.\"}}"
Agent and Edit rely on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key. Please use a Pro or Business subscription and/or disable API keys. Ask should still work.
Then, even though I have the chat panel in the IDE set to “Ask”, when I ask a question I get this error:
Request ID: ed320050-ec51-4598-a0cb-027e44e45a3e
{"error":"ERROR_UNSPECIFIED","details":{"title":"Cursor Pro Required","detail":"Agent and Edit rely on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key. Please use a Pro or Business subscription and/or disable API keys. Ask should still work.","additionalInfo":{},"buttons":[]}}
Agent and Edit rely on custom models that cannot be billed to an API key. Please use a Pro or Business subscription and/or disable API keys. Ask should still work.
(Obviously with different Request IDs each time)
It’s interesting to note that if I use the “Quick question” mode in the inline editor, I can ask questions and receive answers just fine 
Steps to Reproduce
Happens every time I open Cursor now. Can’t say how to reproduce because I can’t get out of this state.
Expected Behavior
I would expect to be able to ask questions in the chat panel using my API key.
Currently I can only ask questions in the inline editor
Operating System
MacOS
Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)
Version: 1.3.8
VSCode Version: 1.99.3
Commit: a1fa6fc7d2c2f520293aad84aaa38d091dee6fe0
Date: 2025-07-31T21:33:51.093Z (23 hrs ago)
Electron: 34.5.1
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.0
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.2.0
Does this stop you from using Cursor
Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
