Vim mode navigation laggy on Vim mode

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When using j/k to navigate with vscodevim.vim vim extension, it’s pretty laggy. It feels like the FPS is much less than 60 FPS. If I use arrow up/down, it’s ok. The problem is more pronounced in an external monitor.

There seems to be some improvements recently: Vim mode navigation is very laggy - #17 by mohitjain, which makes it better than before, but it’s still laggy in my opinion. VSCode doesn’t have this lag, so i’m not sure where it comes from.

Steps to Reproduce

Install vscodevim.vim, then navigate with j/k. The problem is more pronounced in an external monitor.

Expected Behavior

Navigating with j/k should be smooth like VSCode.

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.3.30
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 3dc559280adc5f931ade8e25c7b85393842acf30
Date: 2026-05-09T18:28:42.332Z
Layout: editor
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 25.4.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

5

Hey, thanks for coming back with an update. I saw thread 138606 fixed the main issue with Cursor Tab request flooding when holding j/k, but based on your report there’s still some residual lag. The note about the external monitor is helpful, we didn’t have that before.

To figure out what’s slowing things down now, a couple quick tests would help:

  1. Compare with Cursor Tab turned off. Settings → Tab → turn off Cursor Tab, restart Cursor, and test holding j/k. If it becomes smooth, the issue is still in the Tab pipeline. If the lag stays, it’s not Tab.
  2. Extension Monitor. Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Open Extension Monitor (enable it via Settings → Application → Experimental → Extension Monitor Enabled). Please share CPU and memory for vscodevim while holding j/k.
  3. External monitor refresh rate. What’s it set to in System Settings → Displays for that monitor 60Hz / 120Hz / ProMotion? Does it reproduce just as strongly on the built-in MacBook display?
  4. A 10 to 15 sec screen recording showing j/k vs arrow keys in the same file would really help compare FPS.

Once you’ve got that, send it here and I’ll start a follow-up for the residual lag.

6

Hi, thanks for getting back. To answer your question:

  1. Turning off Cursor Tab doesn’t make a difference

  2. (Attached the screenshot) - the CPU for vim is minimal. But there was an extension host that has 100%, which seems to be from the agent (even though I don’t have any threads running at the moment)

  3. External monitor refresh is at 60Hz. The built-in Macbook display is ProMotion. It doesn’t produce as pronounced in the built-in Macbook display.

  4. I’ve attached the screen recording for cursor (on external monitor) and vscode.

You can see that Cursor, there are some lags while pressing j/k, and there are frame drops. On VSCode, it’s much smoother.

7

Here is the screen capture with Cursor on built-in display (I can only attach 2 links in 1 post): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bz1IwR_DVas1BIkkSTIlPsrUG05QmG8j/view?usp=drive_link