Cursor Performance Tuning

---
name: cursor-performance-tuning
description: 'Optimize Cursor IDE performance: reduce memory usage, speed up indexing,
  tune AI features, and manage

  extensions for large codebases. Triggers on "cursor performance", "cursor slow",
  "cursor optimization",

  "cursor memory", "speed up cursor", "cursor lag".

  '
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(cmd:*)
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
tags:
- saas
- cursor
- performance
compatibility: Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw
---
# Cursor Performance Tuning

Diagnose and fix Cursor IDE performance issues. Covers editor optimization, indexing tuning, extension auditing, AI feature configuration, and strategies for large codebases.

## Performance Diagnostic Workflow

```
Step 1: Identify bottleneck
         ├── Editor lag? → Step 2 (Editor settings)
         ├── High CPU?   → Step 3 (Extension audit)
         ├── Slow AI?    → Step 4 (AI tuning)
         └── Memory?     → Step 5 (Memory management)

Step 2: Editor settings
         ├── Disable minimap, breadcrumbs
         ├── Reduce file watcher scope
         └── Increase memory limits

Step 3: Extension audit
         ├── Profile running extensions
         ├── Disable heavy extensions
         └── Use workspace-scoped disabling

Step 4: AI feature tuning
         ├── Optimize .cursorignore
         ├── Use faster models
         └── Manage chat history

Step 5: Memory management
         ├── Close unused workspace folders
         ├── Limit open editor tabs
         └── Clear caches
```

## Editor Optimization

### settings.json Performance Settings

```json
{
  // Disable visual features for speed
  "editor.minimap.enabled": false,
  "editor.renderWhitespace": "none",
  "editor.guides.bracketPairs": false,
  "breadcrumbs.enabled": false,
  "editor.occurrencesHighlight": "off",
  "editor.matchBrackets": "never",
  "editor.folding": false,
  "editor.glyphMargin": false,

  // Reduce file watching scope
  "files.watcherExclude": {
    "**/node_modules/**": true,
    "**/.git/objects/**": true,
    "**/.git/subtree-cache/**": true,
    "**/dist/**": true,
    "**/build/**": true,
    "**/coverage/**": true,
    "**/.next/**": true,
    "**/target/**": true
  },

  // Exclude from search and explorer
  "files.exclude": {
    "**/node_modules": true,
    "**/.git": true,
    "**/dist": true,
    "**/build": true
  },

  // Memory limits
  "files.maxMemoryForLargeFilesMB": 4096,

  // Reduce auto-save overhead
  "files.autoSave": "onFocusChange",

  // Limit search results
  "search.maxResults": 5000
}
```

### Disable Animations

```json
{
  "workbench.list.smoothScrolling": false,
  "editor.smoothScrolling": false,
  "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": "off",
  "terminal.integrated.smoothScrolling": false
}
```

## Extension Audit

### Profile Running Extensions

`Cmd+Shift+P` > `Developer: Show Running Extensions`

This shows:
- Extension name
- Activation time (ms)
- Profile CPU time

Sort by activation time. Extensions taking > 500ms are worth investigating.

### Process Explorer

`Cmd+Shift+P` > `Developer: Open Process Explorer`

Shows per-process CPU and memory usage:
- Main window
- Extension host (all extensions combined)
- Individual extension processes
- Terminal processes

### Common High-Impact Extensions

| Extension | Impact | Mitigation |
|-----------|--------|------------|
| **GitLens** | CPU: high on large repos | Disable for repos > 50K commits or use lightweight mode |
| **Prettier** | CPU: triggers on every save | Set `"editor.formatOnSave": false`, format manually |
| **TypeScript** | Memory: large projects | Increase `"typescript.tsserver.maxTsServerMemory": 4096` |
| **ESLint** | CPU: validates on type | Set `"eslint.run": "onSave"` instead of "onType" |
| **Spell Checker** | CPU: large files | Add exclusion patterns for generated files |
| **Import Cost** | CPU: recalculates on change | Disable for projects with many imports |

### Disable Per Workspace

Right-click extension > `Disable (Workspace)`. This keeps the extension available for other projects while removing it from the current slow one.

## AI Feature Tuning

### Indexing Optimization

The biggest performance lever for AI features:

```gitignore
# .cursorignore -- aggressive exclusion for large projects
node_modules/
dist/
build/
.next/
out/
target/
coverage/
.turbo/
.cache/
__pycache__/
*.pyc
venv/
.venv/

# Generated code
*.min.js
*.min.css
*.bundle.js
*.d.ts.map
*.tsbuildinfo

# Data files
*.csv
*.json.gz
*.parquet
*.sqlite
*.sql

# Lock files
package-lock.json
yarn.lock
pnpm-lock.yaml
Cargo.lock

# Media
*.png
*.jpg
*.gif
*.svg
*.mp4
*.woff2

# Documentation build output
docs/dist/
docs/.vitepress/dist/
```

### Tab Completion Speed

Tab completion is fast by design (~100ms), but can feel slow if:
- The file is very large (> 10K lines): split the file
- Many extensions are running: audit extensions
- Network is slow: Tab requires network for model inference

### Chat/Composer Response Time

| Factor | Impact | Fix |
|--------|--------|-----|
| Model choice | Opus/o1 are slower than Sonnet/GPT-4o | Use faster models for simple tasks |
| Context size | More @-mentions = slower | Use @Files not @Codebase when possible |
| Conversation length | Long chats slow down | Start new chat frequently |
| Server load | Peak hours are slower | Use off-peak or BYOK |

### Managing Chat History

Long chat sessions consume memory and slow down responses:

```
Signs of chat-related slowdown:
- Typing lag in the chat input
- Editor becomes sluggish after extended chat session
- AI responses take progressively longer

Fix:
1. Start a new chat (Cmd+N in chat panel)
2. Close old chat tabs
3. One topic per chat session
```

## Large Codebase Strategies

### For Projects > 50K Files

```
1. Open specific packages, not the whole monorepo
   cursor packages/api/    # Not: cursor .

2. Aggressive .cursorignore (see above)

3. Multi-root workspace with only active packages
   File > Add Folder to Workspace (selectively)

4. Disable codebase indexing if not needed
   Cursor Settings > Features > Codebase Indexing > off
   (You lose @Codebase but gain performance)

5. Increase system resources
   Close other Electron apps (Slack, Teams, Discord)
   Increase swap space on Linux
```

### Linux File Watcher Limits

```bash
# Check current limit
cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches

# Increase (required for large projects)
echo "fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p
```

### Memory Monitoring

```bash
# macOS: Monitor Cursor memory usage
top -pid $(pgrep -f "Cursor")

# Linux: Monitor Cursor processes
ps aux | grep -i cursor | sort -rn -k4

# If memory exceeds 4GB consistently:
# 1. Close unused workspace folders
# 2. Limit open editor tabs to ~20
# 3. Restart Cursor daily during heavy use
```

## Cache Management

### Clear Caches

```bash
# macOS
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/Cache/
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/CachedData/
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/Code\ Cache/

# Linux
rm -rf ~/.config/Cursor/Cache/
rm -rf ~/.config/Cursor/CachedData/
rm -rf ~/.config/Cursor/Code\ Cache/
```

Restart Cursor after clearing. Caches rebuild automatically.

### Database Maintenance

Cursor stores extension data in SQLite databases. If the storage directory grows large:

```bash
# Check size (macOS)
du -sh ~/Library/Application\ Support/Cursor/

# If > 2GB, clearing Cache/ and CachedData/ usually reclaims most space
```

## Enterprise Considerations

- **Baseline performance**: Establish performance baselines for standard project sizes on team hardware
- **Hardware recommendations**: 16GB RAM minimum for large projects, 32GB for monorepos
- **Network performance**: AI features require low-latency internet. VPN routing can add 200-500ms per request
- **Standardized settings**: Distribute performance-optimized `settings.json` to all team members

## Resources

- [VS Code Performance Tips](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/editingevolved#_performance)
- [Cursor Forum - Performance](https://forum.cursor.com/c/help)
- [Codebase Indexing](https://docs.cursor.com/context/codebase-indexing)