Cursor Origin Setup: Claim the Namespace Before You Create the Repo

One-line job: Claim your namespace safely, install the Origin CLI, create or mirror a repo, and run your first PR loop on Cursor Origin. Audience: Developers on paid Cursor plans setting up Origin for the first time. Not for: Free-plan users (no access) or anyone deciding whether to adopt it; read “What Is Cursor Origin?” first. Last verified: 2026-08-24 Evidence weight: documentation-verified

Cursor Origin is in early beta (since August 17, 2026). Steps follow cursor.com/docs/origin and may change without notice.

What you’ll need

• A paid Cursor plan: Pro, Teams, or Enterprise. Free plans cannot access Origin, and rollout is staged, so you may not see it immediately even when eligible
• Privacy Mode enabled if you’re on Teams; legacy privacy mode must switch first
• For GitHub mirroring: the Cursor GitHub app connected to the owning org/account plus GitHub admin rights on the repo being synced
• Standard git installed locally
• The Origin CLI (origin) is a separate binary from Cursor’s Agent CLI (agent). This guide covers origin only.

⚠️ Step 0: claim the namespace (permanent)

1. Any team member opens cursor.com/codebase
2. Select Get Started and follow the setup flow
3. Choose the codebase name

That name becomes the {owner} namespace in every repo URL (cursor.com/codebase/{owner}/{repo}). During the beta it cannot be changed after claiming, not by you, not by an admin, not by support. Verify spelling with whoever owns naming decisions before anyone clicks through this flow.

After claiming: admins create repos and grant team access in codebase settings, privacy follows the namespace owner’s settings, and admins can disable Origin org-wide at any time.

Choosing between fresh and mirrored

Start mirrored if the repo already exists on GitHub; start fresh only for experiments or new projects that have no history to preserve. Fresh repos avoid the sync-authorization dependency entirely, which matters if your team might drop Origin later: a fresh repo detaches cleanly, while a long-lived mirror accumulates review state on the Origin side that you would want to export before removing the sync. Also note visibility: repos are Internal. There are no public repositories during the beta, so nothing you host here can be open-source.

Who should claim the namespace

Because any team member can claim it and it cannot be undone during beta, make the claim deliberately. Use your organization’s short name exactly as you want it to appear in every repo URL forever. If two people might race to set this up, designate one owner now.

Step 1: install the Origin CLI

curl -fsSL https://downloads.cursor.com/origin/install.sh | sh

Verify and authenticate:

origin --version
origin auth login     # browser flow with your Cursor account (paid plan)

The CLI runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL). The install script also configures git credential handling, so git push and git pull against Origin remotes work without extra setup.

Step 2: create your first repository

Option A, web UI: cursor.com/codebase → New → enter the Repo Name → choose Internal visibility → Create. Then:

git clone https://origin.cursor.com/{owner}/{repo}.git
cd {repo}
git add . && git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push -u origin main

Option B, existing local project:

cd my-project
git remote add origin https://origin.cursor.com/{owner}/{repo}.git
git push -u origin main

Option C, let a Cursor agent do it: ask the agent in Cursor to “create a repo on Origin.” Agents run with your access, so creation succeeds only if your account has Origin access.

Step 3: mirror an existing GitHub repository

1. cursor.com/codebase → Sync from GitHub
2. Authorize via the Cursor GitHub integration
3. Pick the repository; sync brings history, branches, and tags
4. Ongoing: synced repos keep pulling GitHub changes. Sync from GitHub stays authorized until you remove it.

What does NOT come over:

Not synced	What to do instead
GitHub Issues	Keep using GitHub for issues on mirrored repos
GitHub Actions workflows	Rebuild CI using Origin apps: Vercel, Depot, Buildkite
Branch protection rules	Recreate equivalents under Rules and Protections

GitHub stays source of truth for mirrored repos; PRs sync both directions. You can detach later if the arrangement stops fitting.

Step 4: the day-to-day workflow

• Remotes: https://origin.cursor.com/{owner}/{repo}.git, standard git push/pull once origin auth login has configured credentials
• PRs: push a branch, then use create-pull-request in the repo’s Code tab:

git checkout -b my-change && git push -u origin my-change

The PR page has Activity / Commits / Checks / Files Changed tabs. Reviewers, line comments, and changed-line reviews are supported; merge conflicts surface before merging.

• Repo settings: General, Permissions, Rules and Protections, Apps
• CI/deploy: connect Apps in repo settings. Supported today: Vercel, Depot, Buildkite. There is no GitHub Actions support.
• Browse/search: cursor.com/codebase lists all your repos with code search

Your first PR, end to end

Run this loop once before adding teammates, so you know the whole surface:

1. From your repo root: git checkout -b first-origin-test && echo "origin test" >> NOTES.md && git add . && git commit -m "test origin PR" && git push -u origin first-origin-test
2. In the repo’s Code tab on cursor.com/codebase, use create-pull-request; pick first-origin-test into main
3. Open the PR page and walk the four tabs: Activity (discussion), Commits (the chain), Checks (your connected CI app results), Files Changed (the diff)
4. Leave one line comment on the diff to confirm review annotations work
5. Merge. If the merge button is blocked, check Rules and Protections in repo settings; mirrored repos may not have the protections you expect, since GitHub branch rules do not transfer

If this loop takes more than ten minutes, something upstream failed: re-check origin auth login and the Sync from GitHub authorization before debugging git itself.

Working with agents on Origin

One of the quieter capabilities: Cursor automations and cloud agents can operate against Origin repos directly. In practice that means an agent session can push branches and open PRs without a local checkout, using the same permissions as the account it runs under. Keep your usual guardrails: review agent PRs like any other, and remember the deploy gate still applies. CI runs through the connected apps, so a green checkmark on Origin means Vercel/Depot/Buildkite ran, not GitHub Actions.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
command not found: origin	Install script didn’t run or PATH lacks ~/.local/bin; re-run installer, check PATH
origin auth login fails	Confirm paid Cursor plan + Origin access enabled for your account/team
Push auth fails	Re-run origin auth login; credential handler may have been cleared
Sync from GitHub greyed out	Cursor GitHub integration not authorized, or repo not owned/authorized
CI not running	Only Vercel/Depot/Buildkite apps supported, no GitHub Actions; reconnect under repo Settings → Apps
Wrong namespace name	Cannot be fixed during beta; verify owner name before claiming

Known limitations

State these to any team before adopting:

• Beta: features change without notice, no SLA
• No Issues system, no GitHub Actions, no GitHub Issues import
• No self-hosting, no public repositories
• Namespace immutable during beta
• Agent-native features promised but not shipped yet (Cursor’s stated framing)
• Enterprise admins can disable org-wide at any time

Done means

Your namespace is claimed deliberately, origin --version and origin auth login succeed, one repo exists either created fresh or mirrored from GitHub, and you know which CI app replaces your current Actions workflow.

What this article does NOT cover

• Whether Origin is worth adopting vs staying on GitHub alone: read What Is Cursor Origin?
• Pricing specifics: included in existing paid subscriptions during beta, no standalone price published
• Enterprise rollout administration beyond the admin opt-out note

Related guides

• Git commands an AI agent should know
• Agents and the deploy gate: when they push
• Cost-aware model routing for agents
• Terminal commands versus Python when an AI agent should write a script

Sources

Primary:

• docs: origin overview
• docs: origin CLI
• docs: create repository
• docs: mirror GitHub
• docs: git remotes
• docs: pull requests

Independent:

• DigitalOcean: Cursor Origin vs GitHub
• learncursor.dev: Cursor Origin guide
• Hacker News launch thread #49334209