cursor-cli

# cursor-cli The CLI ships the same agent runtime as the SDK and the editor — pick it when shell-script ergonomics beat a TypeScript program. The SDK is the right choice when you need streaming events, durable cloud reattachment, or programmatic subagents; the CLI is the right choice for one-off prompts and CI gates. ## When to use - One-off prompts in a terminal - CI / GitHub Actions jobs that operate on a repo - Headless scripted runs with structured output - Quick local experiments before promoting to SDK code ## Install & auth - [[references/install]] — curl / PowerShell installers, `$HOME/.cursor/bin` - [[references/auth]] — `CURSOR_API_KEY`, login flow ## Interactive - [[references/interactive]] — `agent` REPL - [[references/modes]] — Agent / Plan / Ask, `--mode`, Shift+Tab - [[references/sessions]] — `agent resume`, `agent --continue` - [[references/cloud-handoff]] — `&`-prefix for background ## Headless - [[references/headless]] — `-p / --print`, `--force / --yolo` - [[references/output-formats]] — `text` / `json` / `stream-json`, `--stream-partial-output` - [[references/exit-codes]] — `$?` in shell scripts ## CI / automation - [[references/github-actions]] — workflow snippet, `CURSOR_API_KEY` secret - [[references/permissions]] — restricting agent autonomy in CI ## Compared to the SDK - [[references/cli-vs-sdk]] — when to pick which ## Cross-links - SDK entry point → [[../cursor-sdk/SKILL]] - Models flag → [[../cursor-models/SKILL]] - Rules / skills the CLI loads → [[../cursor-rules/SKILL]] · [[../cursor-skills-system/SKILL]]