Cursor IDE: Installation Workaround

Known Cursor Issue

Some Cursor IDE users experience the dbt Power User extension installation freezing for several minutes, followed by a "Failed to fetch" error dialog. This is a known issue on Cursor's side and has been reported and acknowledged by the Cursor team. See the Cursor forum thread for details.

Until the Cursor team resolves this, please try the workarounds below.

Problem

When installing the dbt Power User extension in Cursor IDE:

1. The installation freezes for several minutes with repeated extensionQuery requests.
2. An error dialog appears with a "Failed to fetch" message.
3. The extension fails to install through the normal marketplace flow.

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Workaround 1: Register extension metadata and reinstall

This workaround tricks Cursor into recognizing the extension entry, then lets you cleanly reinstall it.

Step 1. Open the Cursor extensions metadata file at:

Platform	Path
macOS / Linux	~/.cursor/extensions/extensions.json
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\extensions\extensions.json

Step 2. Add the following JSON object to the array in that file:

Update the paths

Replace <YOUR_HOME_DIR> with your actual home directory path (e.g. /Users/jane, /home/jane, or C:/Users/jane).

{
    "identifier": {
        "id": "innoverio.vscode-dbt-power-user"
    },
    "version": "0.59.1",
    "location": {
        "$mid": 1,
        "fsPath": "<YOUR_HOME_DIR>/.cursor/extensions/innoverio.vscode-dbt-power-user-0.59.1-universal",
        "path": "<YOUR_HOME_DIR>/.cursor/extensions/innoverio.vscode-dbt-power-user-0.59.1-universal",
        "scheme": "file"
    },
    "relativeLocation": "innoverio.vscode-dbt-power-user-0.59.1-universal",
    "metadata": {
        "installedTimestamp": 1768889206275,
        "pinned": false,
        "source": "gallery",
        "id": "4e4743d1-e423-44b9-88a4-d639da0996d1",
        "publisherId": "4a9e9d34-3546-42a6-971d-5a640a726245",
        "publisherDisplayName": "Altimate Inc.",
        "targetPlatform": "universal",
        "updated": false,
        "private": false,
        "isPreReleaseVersion": false,
        "hasPreReleaseVersion": false
    }
}

Validate your JSON

If extensions.json already has other entries, make sure to add a comma separator between objects so the JSON remains valid.

Step 3. Save the file.

Step 4. The extension will now appear as installed in Cursor, but it is not actually installed yet — this is just a metadata entry.

Step 5. Reload the Cursor window:

• Press Cmd + Shift + P (macOS) or Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows/Linux)
• Type "Developer: Reload Window" and press Enter

Step 6. Open the dbt Power User extension page. You will see an error that the extension files don't exist — this is expected:

Unable to read file '.../.cursor/extensions/innoverio.vscode-dbt-power-user-0.59.1-universal/package.json'

Step 7. Uninstall the extension, then reinstall it. You can choose any version you want to install. The installation should now complete successfully.

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Workaround 2: Manual VSIX installation

If Workaround 1 does not resolve the issue, you can manually install the extension using a .vsix file.

Step 1. Download the .vsix file from the Open VSX Registry:

• Go to the extension page and click Download to get the .vsix file.

Step 2. Install the .vsix file in Cursor:

• Open the Extensions panel in Cursor
• Drag and drop the downloaded .vsix file into the Extensions panel

The extension will install directly from the file, bypassing the marketplace fetch entirely.

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Still having issues?

If neither workaround resolves the problem, please reach out on the #tools-dbt-power-user Slack channel or contact support.