Cursor storage
Where Cursor’s disk space goes on a Mac
Cursor’s storage lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor, so your project folders aren’t the cause. Most of it is the workspaceStorage folder, the state database that holds your chat history, and the cache folders. The caches are the part you can clear without much thought, as long as Cursor is closed.
What’s in Cursor’s folder
User/workspaceStorage gets a folder for every project Cursor has ever opened. Each one is named by a hash and has a workspace.json that points at the project path. When you delete or move a project, its folder stays behind.
User/globalStorage/state.vscdb is a SQLite database with your chat history. On one developer Mac it was 2.64 GB of text with no images inside. Chat images are stored separately as ordinary files in workspaceStorage/<hash>/images, and on that Mac they came to 284 files and 56 MB.
Cache, CachedData, Code Cache and GPUCache are rebuilt when Cursor launches. On large monorepos, forum threads also describe .pack files inside workspaceStorage growing past 1 GB, which hold local history for that workspace.
Clearing the caches by hand
The cache folders are the one part of Cursor’s data you can remove without losing anything of your own.
- Quit Cursor.
- Open ~/Library/Application Support/Cursor in Finder and sort by size.
- Delete the Cache, CachedData, Code Cache and GPUCache folders.
- Open Cursor again and let it rebuild them.
What Mint adds
Cursor shows up by name in Mint’s Disk tab, with each part measured. Its cache folders are offered when Cursor is closed. While Cursor is open, Mint offers only cache entries nothing is using, and a cache it can’t clear yet waits in Keep with a note to close Cursor first.
Mint checks for the Cursor app itself, so a cursor-agent worker left running in the background doesn’t keep the cache locked after you quit. The state database, chat images and workspaceStorage folders are measured and left alone. That includes folders for projects that no longer exist, because they can still hold chats from those projects.
Things to check before you delete
Don’t delete the whole Cursor folder. Your settings, keybindings, extension state and every chat go with it.
Leave state.vscdb alone while Cursor runs, and don’t try to shrink it yourself, since only Cursor can compact it safely. A workspaceStorage folder for a project that still exists holds that project’s editor state. A leftover one for a deleted project may still hold its old chats and images, so look inside before you remove it.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Cursor using so much disk space?
Mostly because workspaceStorage collects a folder for every project you open, the state database keeps growing, and the caches fill up. Your project folders aren’t part of it.
Does clearing Cursor’s cache delete my chats?
No. Chats are in the state database and chat images are in workspaceStorage. The cache folders are separate and Cursor rebuilds them.
Is it safe to delete Cursor’s workspaceStorage?
Not as a whole. A folder whose project is gone can go if you don’t need the chats from that project, but a folder for a live project holds its editor state.
Cursor is closed but a cleaner says it’s running. Why?
Usually a cursor-agent worker is still alive. Mint only counts the Cursor app itself, while other tools may count the workers as well.
See what Cursor has left on your Mac
Run a scan and look for Cursor in the Disk tab. Its full caches show up once Cursor is closed.