Fix: Cursor Autocomplete is Slow or Laggy
Quick Answer
Open Cursor Settings > Models, switch to a faster model (GPT-4o-mini for completions), and disable any extensions you don't actively use. Restart Cursor.
Quick Fix Summary
| Issue | Slow autocomplete |
| Fastest fix | Check your model settings |
| Use this page if | Tab completions take 3+ seconds to appear |
Symptoms
- !Tab completions take 3+ seconds to appear
- !Gray suggestion text flickers or disappears
- !IDE feels sluggish when typing
- !High CPU usage from Cursor process
Step-by-Step Fix
Check your model settings
Go to Cursor Settings > Models. For tab completions, use a fast model like GPT-4o-mini. Reserve slower models (Claude) for Composer tasks.
Disable unnecessary extensions
Extensions can conflict with Cursor's AI features. Disable all non-essential extensions and re-enable them one by one to find the culprit.
Clear Cursor cache
Close Cursor. Delete the cache folder at ~/.cursor/cache (macOS) or %APPDATA%/Cursor/cache (Windows). Restart Cursor.
Check your internet connection
Cursor sends code to AI APIs. A slow or unstable connection directly affects completion speed. Try a wired connection or different network.
Reduce project size in context
If your project has thousands of files, Cursor's indexing can slow down. Add large folders (node_modules, .git, dist) to .cursorignore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cursor uses more powerful models for deeper code understanding, which can be slower. Switch to faster models for completions if speed matters more than quality.
Yes. Large projects take longer to index. Use .cursorignore to exclude build artifacts and dependencies.
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