Cursor CLI cheat sheet

Every command, flag and slash command for agent — Cursor's terminal agent — the same models as the editor, driveable headless with Plan / Ask / Agent modes. 14+ commands, verified July 2026.

The installed binary is now agent; cursor-agent still works as a legacy alias (both point at the same binary). Docs use agent throughout.

Install

curl https://cursor.com/install -fsS | bash     # macOS / Linux / WSL

Start & run

agent                                 # interactive TUI
agent "refactor auth to use JWT"      # interactive, seeded with a prompt
agent -p "find and fix perf issues"   # non-interactive (print) mode
agent --plan "design a migration"     # Plan mode
agent --mode ask "explain this repo"  # Ask mode (read-only, no edits)
agent -w feature-x "implement it"     # run in a new git worktree

Sessions & auth

agent ls                    # list previous chats / sessions
agent resume [<chatId>]     # resume a conversation (interactive if no id)
agent --continue            # continue the most recent conversation
agent login | logout | status | models | update

Key flags

Flag	What it does
`-p, --print`	Non-interactive (print) mode, then exit
`--model <m>`	Pick the model for the run
`--output-format`	`text` · `json` · `stream-json`
`--plan`	Plan mode (alias for `--mode=plan`)
`--mode <m>`	`plan` or `ask`
`-f, --force`	Run commands without prompting (yolo)
`-w [name]`	Run in a new git worktree

In-session

Command / key	What it does
`/plan` · `/ask`	Switch to Plan / Ask mode
`/summarize` (`/compress`)	Compact context to free the window
`/model [name]`	Switch model, e.g. `/model Auto`
`/resume`	Resume an existing conversation
`Shift+Tab`	Rotate Agent / Plan / Ask
`Ctrl+R`	Review changes
prefix `&`	Hand the message off to a Cloud Agent

Config & one-liners

export CURSOR_API_KEY="…"     # or: agent login  (browser / device flow)

agent -p "fix the failing tests" --model sonnet-4.5 --output-format text
git diff | agent -p "write a commit message for this diff"
agent -p "add input validation to api/users" -f       # headless + auto-approve
agent -w feature-x "implement the new endpoint"        # isolated worktree