›_ Claude Code Issues
Claude Code Issues / #1464

Claude Code in Cursor: UI button missing and cmd + esc shortcut no longer working

Open 💬 23 comments Opened May 31, 2025 by heather-jones

Environment

  • Platform: Claude Code connected to Cursor
  • Claude CLI version: 1.0.6
  • Operating System: macOS 15.4.1
  • Terminal: in Cursor
  • Cursor version: 0.51.1, which is VSCode Version: 1.96.2

Bug Description

After closing and reopening Cursor, the Claude Code button is missing and the cmd + esc shortcut do not launch the UI window. I've tried restarting Cursor, restarting my Mac, uninstalling, reinstalling Claude Code, ensured it's connected to the IDE and checked the status (all green/no errors).

Expected Behavior

UI button available and cmd + esc shortcut to function

Actual Behavior

Button missing entirely, shortcut does nothing

View original on GitHub ↗

23 Comments

heather-jones · 1 year ago

I've isolated this to be a Cursor 0.51.1 specific issue, so do not upgrade your version for now if you want to avoid this. Downgrading to 0.50.5 (Universal) resolved it - UI button is back and cmd + esc shortcut works as expected.

Unsure if Anthropic or Cursor actually needs to fix this. I've also raised it on the Cursor forum for visibility.

Kolger · 1 year ago

Up

danielraffel · 1 year ago

I just installed the Claude Code extension in Cursor, and after quitting and restarting, the icon just disappeared. I have no idea how to get it back.

Cursor:
Version: 1.1.3
VSCode Version: 1.96.2

Claude Code Extension:
Version
1.0.25
Last Updated
2025-06-16, 21:43:21

ilyachenko · 1 year ago

The same issue.

VS Code:
Version: 1.101.0 (Universal)
Date: 2025-06-11T15:00:50.123Z

Claude Code Extension:
Version: 1.0.30
Last Updated: 2025-06-20, 11:21:43

danielraffel · 1 year ago

The Claude icon still does not appear in the chrome of my IDE:

Cursor Version: 1.1.5
VSCode Version: 1.96.2

Version
1.0.31
Last Updated
2025-06-22, 10:07:02

JothamD · 1 year ago

VS code - Never seen the UI button and CMD + Esc doesn't work.

Also, Diffs dont show in VSCODE even though CC shows IDE connected - This started when I changed to a local install of CC due to auto updates not working

frankdilo · 1 year ago

Having same problem with Cursor and Claude Code.

Cursor:
Version: 1.1.5
VSCode Version: 1.96.2
Commit: ef5eeb47a684b4c217dfaf0463aa7ea952f8ab90
Date: 2025-06-21T05:23:57.743Z
Electron: 34.5.1
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.19.0
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.3.0

Claude code:
1.0.34 (Claude Code)

derrickpelletier · 1 year ago

Check this issue y'all https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/2253
worked for me

jun06t · 1 year ago

@derrickpelletier
Thanks! It also worked for me!

avarayr · 1 year ago

✅ Solution (macOS Tahoe 26)


echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.claude/local/node_modules/.bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc

Quit Cursor -> Reopen cursor

don't "Reload Windows", it won't show up until you quit and restart

Weijiang-Xiong · 1 year ago

anyone knows a solution for vscode? It works for cursor but in vs code I still can't see the icon

choukh · 1 year ago
VS code - Never seen the UI button and CMD + Esc doesn't work. Also, Diffs dont show in VSCODE even though CC shows IDE connected - This started when I changed to a local install of CC due to auto updates not working

same issue

Nostromos · 1 year ago

Here's what just worked for me:

  1. Uninstall "Claude Code for VSCode" in the vscode extensions marketplace,
  2. Open terminal and launch claude code,

It automatically installed the extension for me and it Cmd + Esc / UI button in VSCode are back.

alexander-densley · 1 year ago
Here's what just worked for me: 1. Uninstall "Claude Code for VSCode" in the vscode extensions marketplace, 2. Open terminal and launch claude code, It automatically installed the extension for me and it Cmd + Esc / UI button in VSCode are back.

ive tried this a dozen times, not working for me. I'm using mac with vscode

alexander-densley · 1 year ago
> Here's what just worked for me: > > 1. Uninstall "Claude Code for VSCode" in the vscode extensions marketplace, > 2. Open terminal and launch claude code, > > It automatically installed the extension for me and it Cmd + Esc / UI button in VSCode are back. ive tried this a dozen times, not working for me. I'm using mac with vscode

I resolved the issue by doing the following:

  • uninstalling claude code globablly
  • remove the claude alias from my bashrc
  • removed .claude locally
  • removed extension from vscode
  • reinstalled claude code globally
  • ran claude in integrated terminal
umutozd · 11 months ago
# ✅ Solution (macOS Tahoe 26) echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.claude/local/node_modules/.bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc Quit Cursor -> Reopen cursor don't "Reload Windows", it won't show up until you quit and restart

This solution worked for me. Here's my local setup:

  • Cursor: 1.2.4
  • MacOS: Sonoma 14.7.4 (23H420)
  • CPU: Apple M1 Pro
ORDEP81 · 10 months ago

Still Broken

rdmzzz · 9 months ago

It started happening for me after upgrading to macOS 26. cmd+fn+esc does works for me though.

github-actions[bot] · 7 months ago

This issue has been inactive for 30 days. If the issue is still occurring, please comment to let us know. Otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 30 days for housekeeping purposes.

Shuaib-8 · 6 months ago

Perhaps obvious/simple, but everything is working for me.

  • CMD + esp shortcut is working for me
  • Claude Code Spark icon appearing for me

Environment

----

  • Platform: Claude Code connected to Cursor
  • Cursor Version: 2.2.44
  • VSCode Version: 1.105.1
  • Claude CLI Extension Version: 2.0.75
  • Operating System: macOS 15.7.1
  • Chip/Arch: Apple M4
  • Terminal: in Cursor

Solution

----

More actions... (navigate to far side with '...') > Configure Icon Visibility > Claude Code: Open

<img width="439" height="273" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/dbe47ff9-df97-4a9b-83cf-6f35577f7318" />

trannhutle · 6 months ago
It started happening for me after upgrading to macOS 26. cmd+fn+esc does works for me though.

what if we dont have the fn button, is there any way that we can get around?

sara-laerdal · 3 months ago

Confirming this bug is still present on Windows 11 — with a specific reproduction trigger

I can reproduce this consistently, and a colleague on the same setup has the same issue.

Environment:

  • OS: Windows 11 (10.0.26200)
  • Cursor: 3.0.16 (VSCode engine 1.105.1)
  • Claude Code extension: 2.1.108

Specific trigger: The icon disappears when opening Cursor in a different folder/workspace than the one where Claude Code was first activated. A full restart is not required — switching to a new folder is enough to make the Activity Bar icon vanish.

Workaround: Ctrl+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window restores the icon, though it can take a moment to appear.

Related: Issue #31375 contains a root cause analysis — Cursor inconsistently reports secondary sidebar support, causing the primary Activity Bar icon to hide while the secondary sidebar silently fails. It was closed as Not Planned, but the problem is clearly still reproducible across multiple users and setups.

Marking this as stale seems premature given how consistently reproducible it is.

TheMorpheus407 · 2 months ago

Research Summary

Repository Mismatch: This workspace (bootstrap-academy-v2) is a Flutter learning application and does NOT contain the Claude Code IDE integration code. Issue #1464 belongs to anthropics/claude-code repository.

Issue Analysis

Bug: Claude Code Activity Bar button missing and cmd+esc shortcut non-functional after restarting Cursor/VSCode.

Root Cause (from issue #31375): Cursor inconsistently reports secondary sidebar support, causing the primary Activity Bar icon to hide while the secondary sidebar silently fails.

Workarounds reported by users:

  1. Downgrade Cursor to 0.50.5
  2. Add export PATH="$HOME/.claude/local/node_modules/.bin:$PATH" to ~/.zshrc
  3. Uninstall/reinstall Claude Code extension
  4. Full cleanup reinstallation (remove global CC, aliases, .claude, reinstall)
  5. Configure Icon Visibility: More actions... > Configure Icon Visibility > Claude Code: Open
  6. Ctrl+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window (temporary fix)

Affected versions: Cursor 0.51.1+, VS Code with Claude Code extension 1.0.25+

Impacted Modules (in anthropics/claude-code)

  1. Activity Bar/Icon registration
  2. Keyboard shortcut handler (cmd+esc)
  3. Sidebar view management
  4. Extension activation lifecycle

Test Ideas

  1. Activity Bar icon visibility across Cursor/VSCode versions
  2. cmd+esc shortcut registration on different platforms
  3. Secondary sidebar support detection logic
  4. Extension activation with workspace folder changes
  5. PATH environment variable impact on extension loading

Full research: logs/issues/1464/research.md