Command reference ยท Cursor CLI
agent login
Authenticates the CLI with your Cursor account through the browser login flow.
agent login starts the browser-based OAuth login flow and links the CLI to the Cursor account; the credentials are then stored securely locally. For automated environments like CI/CD or servers without a browser, there are alternatives: an API key generated via the Cursor dashboard can be set as the CURSOR_API_KEY environment variable or passed directly with the global flag --api-key <key>, which skips the login flow entirely. If a browser can't be opened automatically, NO_OPEN_BROWSER=1 agent login instead just prints the login URL, which can be opened manually. Since early July 2026, during login (or on first start) pressing q additionally displays a QR code for the same URL, to conveniently complete the login from a smartphone, e.g. over an SSH session. Login status can be checked anytime with agent status.
โ WHEN TO USE IT?
Initial CLI setup on a new machine
agent login
Logging in over SSH on a remote server without its own browser window
Press q during agent login and scan the displayed QR code with a smartphone
โ WHEN NOT TO?
CLI runs headless in CI/CD without an interactive session
agent login requires an interactive browser or QR code flow and blocks without user input.
Better: set CURSOR_API_KEY or pass --api-key <key> to skip the login step
Browser can't be opened automatically on the machine
agent login tries to launch the default browser directly by default.
Better: set NO_OPEN_BROWSER=1 agent login and open the printed URL manually
SOURCES
- Cursor Docs โ CLI Reference: Parameters โ cursor.com
- Cursor Docs โ Authentication โ cursor.com
- Cursor Docs โ ACP โ cursor.com