Stuck
Grok Bot stuck on Setting up, Starting, or Connecting
If the label is still changing, wait. xAI says initial setup and an image update can take several minutes. Keep the app open until Starting your computer or Updating your computer finishes. Retry, restart, and Update are for when progress stops or fails. A moving bar is not a Reset.
Read the label, then do one thing
Grok Bot stuck is not a single defect. Write down the label. If it still changes, stop reading and leave the app open. Official order once it fails or freezes: Retry from the error, restart Grok Bot, check for an app update (Settings → Updates → Check for Updates; Restart to Update does not reset the computer), then Update under Grok Bot's Computer if the machine is still unreachable. Reset is only after those fail.
| Label you see | What staff say it usually is | First move |
|---|---|---|
| Connecting, forever, on a new account | Privacy Mode was never saved | Save Privacy Mode on the Cursor dashboard, fully quit, reopen |
| Setting up your Grok Bot, or a black spinner on a free plan | No hosted computer was provisioned | A real seat or a plan that includes Grok Bot. Not a new download |
| Reconnecting, or Showing saved messages | DNS, while the computer may be healthy | Hotspot test, then the can't-reach page. Retry will not fix a resolver |
| Cleaning up, after Reset | The backend often already finished | Fully quit, then Recover. Do not Reset again |
| 50 percent Starting | A server-side bad state | Wait a few minutes. Data is usually still there |
| White window, empty roster, or a fake first-run | Local config, sleep, or a computer that is still booting | White-screen page. Do not create a first bot in that window |
Connecting that never completes
This shows up on new Cursor accounts that have not saved a privacy choice. Grok Bot needs cloud storage. Legacy Privacy Mode blocks that. Switching the control is not enough: you have to save Privacy Mode (not Legacy) on the Cursor dashboard. Until that save exists, Retry, Recover, and Reset all fail, and a reinstall fails too. Fully quit after the save. On a Mac, menu-bar Quit. On Windows, the tray. Then open the app and let the login finish. The login page has the rest of the popup and SSO notes. Do not create a second Cursor user because the first one sat on Connecting for an hour.
Setting up, and the black spinner that is not your Wi-Fi
A free Cursor plan does not get a hosted computer. The app can spin on Setting up your Grok Bot anyway. Staff called the copy a known bug: it looks like setup, and it is a missing seat. The same black loading screen happens when someone is a team admin and never assigned themselves a Standard or Premium seat. Admin is not a computer. Download the Mac or Windows package again only after a seat exists. Until then every network test is noise. Pricing is the snapshot of which plans include access. This page does not add a free tier the product does not have.
Cleaning up and 50 percent Starting
These two appear after someone already pressed Reset. They feel like proof you should press it again. They are not.
Stuck on Cleaning up: the backend has often finished, and the desktop is waiting on a session that will not notice. Fully quit the app, reopen, and use Recover if the computer is still unreachable. Do not launch a second Reset to finish the first one. The second pass is how unsynced work disappears.
Stopped at 50 percent Starting: staff describe a server-side bad state. Wait a few minutes. Bot data is usually still on the account. Stacking Reset on a percent bar does not push the percent. If a status dialog looks alarming, do not click yet. Try signing in again and check the phone on cellular before you confirm anything destructive. The Reset dialog can also open behind Settings, where it is invisible and cannot be clicked. Fully quit. Do not click around the window hoping you hit the right control.
Reconnecting in the middle of a session
Mid-session Reconnecting, or Showing saved messages, while you have reason to think the Agent Computer is healthy, is the DNS class of bug. Retry, Recover, and Reset do not teach your resolver a name it cannot look up. A rebuilt computer lands in the same DNS zone. Go to the can't-reach page and run the hotspot test before any computer button. If the phone on another network works, you have your answer.
What to collect if it is still stuck
After the one move that matches the label, stop changing things. Email hi@cursor.com with the version, the OS, the exact label, the bot name if you have one, the time and timezone, and the request id if the app shows one. Say whether phone and desktop fail together. Do not send passwords, backup codes, or API keys. If both devices fail, including cellular, staff often want you to wait rather than Reset. The recover page explains what Update, Recover, and Reset each keep, for the moment a button really is the next step.
FAQ
Grok Bot is stuck on Connecting and never finishes. What fixes that?
New accounts that never saved Privacy Mode (not Legacy) on the Cursor dashboard can sit on Connecting forever. Save that choice, fully quit, and reopen. Retry, Recover, and Reset do not help until it is saved.
It is stuck on Setting up your Grok Bot. Is my network down?
A free Cursor plan never gets a hosted computer, and the app can spin forever. That is a missing seat, not DNS. A team admin role alone is also not a seat.
Reset is stuck on Cleaning up. Should I Reset again?
No. The backend has often already finished. Fully quit, then Recover. Resetting again is how people lose unsynced work.
Setup stopped at 50 percent Starting. Are my bots deleted?
Staff describe this as a server-side bad state. Wait a few minutes. Bot data is usually still there. Do not stack another Reset on top.
Related
- Grok Bot guide — Install path if you never got a roster at all.
- Not working index — The short cards for every symptom.
- Can't reach your computer — DNS, VPN, and antivirus when the label is Reconnecting.
- Not responding — Computer is up, replies are not. Check usage.
- Mac download — Wrong chip and the white window are install problems, not Reset problems.
Sources
- Official troubleshooting
- Cursor getting started
- Cleaning up hang
- 50 percent Starting
- Reset window behind Settings
- Privacy Mode and first setup