cursor-bridge
One binary. Claude Code on Cursor's backend. Zero config.
Why does this exist?
You have a Cursor subscription. You want to use Claude Code (the CLI). Cursor's Auto model is included with your subscription — free, unlimited, no extra per-token cost.
Without cursor-bridge, you'd pay separately for Anthropic API credits or a Claude Pro plan.
With cursor-bridge, you just run cursor-bridge and it works — Claude Code runs on your Cursor backend.
Use cases:
- You're already paying for Cursor → get Claude Code for free on top
- You want Claude Code's agent capabilities (file editing, shell commands, tool use) without Anthropic billing
- Cursor's Auto model is free and unlimited with subscription — Claude Code becomes effectively free to run
cursor-bridge # interactive session
cursor-bridge "refactor this file" # one-shot prompt
cursor-bridge -p "list files" # pipe mode
That's it. No proxy management. No env vars. Everything automatic.
How it works
cursor-bridge (Rust binary)
├── Starts a local HTTP proxy on a random port
├── Reads your Cursor auth token from macOS keychain (or CURSOR_TOKEN env var on Linux)
├── Spawns `claude` with env vars pointing at the proxy
├── Proxy translates Anthropic API calls → Cursor agent CLI
└── Cleans up on exit
You don't see the proxy. You don't manage it. It's there and gone.
Install
# Prerequisites
# - Cursor installed with `agent` CLI authenticated (`agent login`)
# - Claude Code installed (`curl -O https://claude-code.anthropic.com/claude && chmod +x claude`)
cargo install cursor-bridge
# Then just use it
cursor-bridge
Or download a binary from Releases.
Requirements
- macOS or Linux
- Cursor subscription (with
agentCLI in PATH) - Claude Code CLI (
claudein PATH) - macOS: token auto-read from keychain
- Linux: set
CURSOR_TOKENenv var (no keychain fallback)
How it differs from other proxies
All other solutions are background servers you manage. cursor-bridge is a command you run.
Existing proxies (cursor-api-proxy, cursor-composer-in-claude, cursor-proxy) are Node.js servers that live in your process list, occupy a port, and need manual env var wiring. They don't ship with Claude Code — they sit between you and it, adding ceremony.
cursor-bridge is the opposite. There is nothing to start, stop, or configure. It is the session:
| The old way | cursor-bridge |
|---|---|
Start a proxy daemon, note the port, set env vars, then run claude |
Run cursor-bridge — done |
| Background process that outlives your session | Lives and dies with your terminal |
| Pick a port, pray it doesn't clash | Random port, zero conflicts |
npm install + npx + Node.js runtime (60+ MB) |
One Rust binary, ~780 KB, statically compiled |
| Multiple npm packages, peer deps, version mismatches | cargo install or download. One binary. Nothing else. |
No daemon. No npm install. No env vars. No port hunting. No cleanup. Just a single binary that works.
cursor-bridge replaces claude entirely — it manages the proxy lifecycle internally, spawns the CLI, and cleans up after itself when you're done.
Caveats
- Linux: requires
CURSOR_TOKENenv var (no keychain support). - No workspace sandboxing — the agent runs in your current directory.
- Single account — no multi-account rotation (yet).
Legal
This project is not affiliated with Anthropic or Cursor/Anysphere. Use at your own risk.
License
MIT