Origin by Cursor is Cursor's own git hosting platform — a GitHub-style home for repositories, pull requests, and code review, built directly into the Cursor editor and its Codebase tab. It launched in early beta on August 17, 2026, for every paid Cursor plan, and it can either host new repos outright or mirror an existing GitHub repo so the two stay in sync.
Short answer: Origin is Cursor's built-in code host, in early beta since August 17, 2026, for Pro, Teams, and Enterprise plans (not the free Hobby tier). Create a repo from the Codebase tab or sync one from GitHub, and Cursor's agents can browse, edit, and open pull requests against it without you leaving the editor. GitHub Issues, Actions, and secrets don't sync over.
Last updated August 19, 2026.
I've spent the past two days poking at Origin on a Pro account, both starting a fresh repo from scratch and mirroring an existing GitHub project into it. In my testing it's clearly a first release — solid for the basics, missing a few things I reach for daily — and this guide covers exactly what I did to get it working, plus where it fell short.
What you'll need
A paid Cursor plan is the hard requirement. Origin isn't available on the free Hobby tier — only Pro, Pro+, Ultra, Teams, and Enterprise, according to Cursor’s own Origin docs. You'll also need the latest build of the Cursor editor, since the Codebase tab that hosts Origin is a newer addition to the sidebar. Syncing an existing project instead of starting fresh? You need admin access on the GitHub repo you want to mirror, plus the Cursor GitHub app connected to that organization. Teams on Cursor's older privacy settings have to switch to Privacy Mode first, before anyone on the team can use Origin. Someone also needs to claim your team's namespace early — that's the owner name in every repo URL. In my testing it can't be changed later, so it's worth a minute of thought before you type one in.
Step-by-step: Origin by Cursor
1. Open the Codebase tab
Origin lives in a new Codebase tab in the Cursor sidebar, not in a separate app. If you don't see it, update Cursor first — this is where every Origin repo you have access to shows up, and it's also reachable directly at cursor.com/codebase.
2. Create a repo, or sync one from GitHub
For a brand-new project, click New, type a repo name, and choose Internal or Private visibility, then Create Repo. For an existing GitHub project, click Sync from GitHub instead, pick the organization and repository, and confirm. In my testing, syncing an existing repo took under a minute for a small project — Origin pulled in the full git history, branches, and tags, but not GitHub Issues, Actions workflows, or repo secrets, which stayed GitHub-only.
3. Push code with the CLI
Grab the clone URL from the green Code button, then use standard git. For a fresh repo:
“bash git clone https://origin.cursor.com/{owner}/{repo}.git cd {repo} git add . git commit -m "Initial commit" git push -u origin main “
For a project you already have locally, add Origin as a remote instead of cloning:
“bash cd your-project git remote add origin https://origin.cursor.com/{owner}/{repo}.git git push -u origin main “
You can also skip the terminal entirely and ask a Cursor agent to do it — tell it to install the Origin CLI, sign in, create the repo, and push, and it handles every command above on its own. When I tested this route it worked exactly as described, though I still double-checked the remote URL afterward out of habit.
4. Work with pull requests
Every Origin repo has its own pull request view with a timeline, commits, checks, and a diff viewer, so you can review and merge without opening GitHub. If the repo is synced rather than Origin-native, comments move both directions — something I typed in a Cursor PR comment showed up on the matching GitHub PR within a few seconds when I tried it, and vice versa.
5. Connect a cloud agent to the repo
Once a repo exists in Origin, you can attach a Cursor cloud agent to it the same way you would any other codebase — point it at the repo, give it a task, and it can read, edit, and push branches or update pull requests on its own. This is the part of Origin that's clearly built around agents doing the day-to-day git work instead of a person running every command by hand.
Example prompts you can copy
These are prompts I used inside Cursor to drive Origin through the agent instead of the raw CLI:
- "Install the Origin CLI, sign in, create a private repo called
internal-tools, and push this project's current state as the initial commit." - "Sync the
billing-servicerepo from our GitHub org into Origin, then open it in the Codebase tab so I can browse it." - "Open a pull request on Origin for the current branch, and write a summary of what changed and why."
- "Check whether the last comment I left on this Origin pull request has synced back to the matching GitHub PR yet."
Naming the exact repo and the exact action is what made these reliable — vague prompts like "set up Origin for this project" made the agent guess at a repo name and visibility setting I hadn't actually decided on.
Common mistakes to avoid
The biggest one in my testing: treating the namespace like something I could rename later. You can't, so pick it deliberately before your team's first repo goes in. Second, assuming a GitHub sync brings everything over. Issues, Actions workflows, and secrets stay on GitHub. If your team relies on GitHub Actions for CI, that pipeline keeps running from GitHub, not Origin, at least in this beta. Third, forgetting that a synced repo still treats GitHub as the source of truth. Pushes from Origin ultimately land on GitHub too, so you can't stop paying attention to your GitHub repo just because Origin exists. Fourth, skipping Privacy Mode on an older team account, then wondering why nobody can see the Codebase tab. And fifth, expecting full agent-native features on day one. Cursor's own changelog says those are shipping "soon," not at launch, so some of what you'll read about Origin's long-term vision for AI-agent-scale git isn't live yet.
Origin vs. GitHub: what's different right now
| Origin (beta) | GitHub | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Cursor Pro, Teams, or Enterprise only | Any GitHub account, free tier included |
| Lives in | Cursor's Codebase tab / cursor.com/codebase | Its own site and apps |
| Repos & PRs | Yes — create native or sync from GitHub | Yes, full feature set |
| Issues, Actions, secrets | Not synced in this beta | Full support |
| Best for right now | Agent-driven repos inside Cursor, fast PR review without leaving the editor | Everything else — CI, issue tracking, the rest of your team's tooling |
Origin isn't trying to fully replace GitHub yet, even for teams that adopt it — GitHub stays the source of truth on synced repos, and Issues, Actions, and secrets simply aren't part of this release. Treat it as a faster, agent-friendly front end for the repos you're actively working on inside Cursor, not a full migration off GitHub.
Tools that make this easier
Origin is only useful once you're comfortable running agents against a real codebase in Cursor, so if you're new to the editor, our beginner’s guide to Cursor is the place to start before touching Origin at all. If you're deciding whether Cursor is even the right editor for you, Cursor vs Copilot breaks down the pricing and the day-to-day differences with a real side-by-side test. For a wider view of what AI coding assistants can and can't do beyond Cursor specifically, our AI coding assistant guide is worth a read, and best AI tool for code compares Cursor against the other serious options. If GitHub-native tooling matters more to your team than switching editors, ChatGPT alternatives for coding covers tools that plug into your existing GitHub workflow instead. And if you're curious how a competing agent handles the same kind of repo-and-PR workflow, how to use ChatGPT Codex walks through OpenAI's version of connecting an agent to GitHub.
My take
Origin is a genuinely useful first release if you already live inside Cursor and want pull requests one click away instead of a browser tab away — the GitHub sync worked cleanly every time I tested it, and having an agent open and manage its own PRs without leaving the editor is a real time-saver. It's not a reason to leave GitHub yet: no Issues, no Actions, no secrets, and GitHub still holds the source of truth on any synced repo. I'd treat it as a fast lane for agent-heavy work on repos you're actively building, not a replacement for your team's existing GitHub setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Origin by Cursor free?
No. Origin requires a paid Cursor plan — Pro ($20/month), Pro+ ($60/month), Ultra ($200/month), Teams ($40/user/month), or Enterprise. It isn't available on the free Hobby tier.
How long does it take to set up Origin by Cursor?
Creating a new repo takes under a minute from the Codebase tab. Syncing an existing GitHub repo took me under a minute for a small project in testing, though larger repos with long histories will take longer to mirror.
What is the easiest way to use Origin?
Let a Cursor agent handle the setup — ask it to install the Origin CLI, sign in, create or sync the repo, and push, instead of typing every git command yourself. It's faster and I found it matched the manual steps exactly when I checked its work.
Does Origin replace GitHub?
Not yet, and not fully even for synced repos — GitHub stays the source of truth, and Issues, Actions workflows, and secrets don't move over in this beta. Cursor's own changelog describes more agent-native features as coming later, not shipped at launch.
Can my whole team use Origin, or just individual accounts?
Both, but team use needs a bit of setup: someone has to claim a namespace first, and teams on older privacy settings must switch to Privacy Mode before Origin becomes visible. Enterprise admins can also disable Origin for their org at any time.