Why can i not create a "side chat" if I open a specific project?

Support Help
,
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When I open a chat on the Agents Window, I have the ability to highlight some chat text and trigger “Add to Chat | Add to Side Chat”

When I open the same chat in a project, I have no such ability.

Steps to Reproduce

Open a chat inside a project

Expected Behavior

“Add to side chat” functionality exists in all windows

Operating System

MacOS

Version Information

Version: 3.15.6
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: a1f686545fd0ce8917bbd2449f733551a9bce420
Date: 2026-08-06T01:41:03.876Z
Layout: Agent Window
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.291
OS: Darwin arm64 25.6.0

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

9

Hey @sk_monkeytyper, thanks for the report! Quick check so I’m sure I understand: when you say you open the chat “in a project”, do you mean opening that project in the regular Cursor IDE window (the classic editor view), rather than in the Agents Window?

If so, what you’re seeing is expected today. Side Chats are currently a feature of the Agents Window only, and the chat pane inside an IDE window doesn’t have them.

If you open the same conversation in the Agents Window you’ll get the option back, and you can also start a side chat there by typing /side in the chat input once the conversation has at least one message.

If you’re talking about something else let me know!

10

Correct. Why are side chats only restricted to agents window?

Can we build side chat functionality to projects too?