Cursor’s Background Agents are now called Cloud Agents. They run asynchronously in an isolated cloud VM that clones your repo, installs dependencies, and pushes merge-ready work to a branch. New to the editor? Start with Cursor first steps.
1. Know what changed
The feature was renamed: Cursor’s docs now say Cloud Agents were formerly called Background Agents. If a guide still says “background agents,” it means this. They need a paid plan and run under standard Privacy Mode, unlike the local Claude Code vs Cursor setup.
2. Connect source control and set a spend limit
A Cursor admin connects a GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, or Bitbucket account, then picks the repositories agents may touch. You need read-write access to the repo and its submodules. On first use you set a spend limit, since runs bill at the model’s API pricing.
Cursor Settings -> Cloud Agents -> connect your Git provider, then pick repos
3. Start a Cloud Agent on a task
In the desktop app, pick Cloud in the dropdown under the agent input and send your task. You can also start one at cursor.com/agents, from the iOS app, or by commenting on a pull request.
@cursor fix the failing auth tests and open a PR with the change
Posting that comment on a GitHub PR or issue hands the task to a Cloud Agent.
4. Monitor the run and review the PR
The agent works on its own branch and pushes merge-ready PRs. Open its page to watch progress, read Build logs, and inspect artifacts like screenshots. Hover the repository name to see its environment; you can take control of the remote desktop to test the app, then release it.
5. Mind the privacy and data limits
Cloud Agents run in Privacy Mode, so Cursor does not train on your code or prompts. But the VM stores your cloned code while it runs, and snapshots persist on a rolling 30-day inactivity window that you cannot delete on demand. Treat it like any cloud CI, and read the Cloud Agent security docs.
If it fails:
- No Cloud option in the dropdown: you are on a plan without it, or source control is not connected. Connect your Git provider and confirm a paid plan.
- Agent cannot push or open a PR: your account lacks read-write access to the repo or a submodule. Grant it in the Git provider.
- “Legacy Privacy Mode is not supported”: switch the org to standard Privacy Mode, which Cloud Agents require.