WSL: all extension icons break after restart (vscode-remote-resource:// blocked by CORS + ERR_UNKNOWN_URL_SCHEME)

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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

In a WSL remote workspace, all extension-provided icons (activity/view icons + icons inside extension UIs, plus extension icons) become squares or invisible after restarting Cursor. Built-in Cursor/VS Code icons remain fine. Disabling/re-enabling an extension (e.g. GitLens) temporarily fixes all extension icons until the next restart.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open a WSL workspace (Remote WSL).
  2. Install extensions with icon assets (e.g. GitLens, Todo Tree, etc.).
  3. Icons are correct initially.
  4. Close Cursor completely.
  5. Reopen the same WSL workspace.
  6. Observe: extension icons are broken (squares/invisible).
  7. Disable + re-enable GitLens (or reinstall an extension) → icons become correct again until next restart.

Expected Behavior

Extension icons load reliably across restarts.

Operating System

Windows 10/11

Version Information

Version: 3.1.14 (user setup)
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: d8673fb56ba50fda33ad78382000b519bb8acb70
Date: 2026-04-14T01:39:23.679Z
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: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

Additional Information

With Cursor Agent help:
Hypothesis
Regression in Windows renderer scheme/protocol handling for vscode-remote-resource:// on startup (CORS + sometimes treated as unknown scheme), so extension SVG/WOFF2 assets from WSL don’t load after restart. Disable/reenable triggers a refresh that temporarily fixes it.

Workaround
Launching with --disable-features=OutOfBlinkCors makes it work, but that’s not an ideal long-term solution.

Ask
Can Cursor fix/allowlist/register vscode-remote-resource:// properly on startup for WSL so extension assets load without CORS / unknown-scheme failures?

Does this stop you from using Cursor

Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor

1 Like
5

Hey, thanks for the detailed report. The repro steps and your hypothesis really help.

This is a known class of issue. There’s a related thread where Windows users (not WSL) hit the same thing: extension icons (Claude, Codex, GitLens, etc.) disappear after a restart and come back after Developer: Reload Window: Some sidebar tab icons disappeared

In your case, the WSL layer adds the CORS / vscode-remote-resource:// angle, but the root cause is the same. extension icon resources don’t load correctly on startup.

For now, there are two workarounds:

  • Run Ctrl+Shift+P then Developer: Reload Window after each restart (fastest)
  • Keep using your --disable-features=OutOfBlinkCors flag (more permanent, but not ideal)

I’ve passed this to the team. No ETA yet, but your CORS and protocol details help us prioritize it. I’ll post an update here if there’s news.

1 Like