update-cursor

Install or update Cursor IDE from the official stable AppImage API on Linux — skip download when already current, force reinstall, or uninstall cleanly.
Linux v1.0.0 Cursor IDE AppImage

Install

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
curl -fsSL https://omid.dev/scripts/update-cursor.sh -o ~/.local/bin/update-cursor
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/update-cursor

Cursor ships for Linux as an AppImage. This script installs or updates it from Cursor’s official stable download API, keeps files under ~/.local, and wires up a desktop entry plus a cursor launcher on your PATH.

It compares the installed version in ~/.local/opt/cursor/version.txt with the latest stable release and skips the download when you are already current (or newer). Use --force to reinstall anyway.

Install

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mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
curl -fsSL https://omid.dev/scripts/update-cursor.sh -o ~/.local/bin/update-cursor
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/update-cursor

Requires curl. On Manjaro/Arch you also need fuse2 for AppImages (sudo pacman -S curl fuse2). Put ~/.local/bin on your PATH if it is not already.

Inspect the source first if you prefer: static/scripts/update-cursor.sh.

Quick start

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update-cursor              # install or update to latest stable
update-cursor --force      # reinstall even when already up to date
update-cursor --uninstall  # remove Cursor, desktop entry, and this script
update-cursor --self-update  # replace the script only
update-cursor --help

After install, launch with:

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cursor

If Cursor is open while you update it, close it first, run update-cursor, then start it again.

What it does

  1. Calls Cursor’s stable API for Linux x64 (downloadUrl + version).
  2. Compares against ~/.local/opt/cursor/version.txt (unless --force).
  3. Downloads the AppImage to a temp dir, extracts the icon, and installs under ~/.local/opt/cursor/.
  4. Symlinks ~/.local/bin/cursor → the AppImage.
  5. Writes ~/.local/share/applications/cursor.desktop and refreshes the desktop database when available.

Layout on disk

PathPurpose
~/.local/opt/cursor/cursor.AppImageAppImage binary
~/.local/opt/cursor/cursor.pngIcon
~/.local/opt/cursor/version.txtInstalled Cursor version
~/.local/bin/cursorSymlink launcher
~/.local/bin/update-cursorThis script
~/.local/share/applications/cursor.desktopDesktop entry

Commands and options

OptionDescription
(default)Install or update to the latest stable AppImage
--force, -fReinstall even when no update is needed
--uninstall, -uRemove Cursor, desktop entry, launcher, and this script
--self-updateDownload and install the latest script from omid.dev
-h, --helpShow help

Environment

VariableDescription
UPDATE_CURSOR_SCRIPT_URLOverride script URL for --self-update (default: omid.dev)
UPDATE_CURSOR_SKIP_SELF_CHECKSet to 1 to skip the newer-script availability check

Self-update

Refresh the script without touching the Cursor install:

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update-cursor --self-update

On normal runs it may warn when a newer script version is available. Set UPDATE_CURSOR_SKIP_SELF_CHECK=1 to silence that check.

Uninstall

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update-cursor --uninstall

Removes the AppImage directory, icon, desktop entry, cursor symlink, and the update-cursor script itself.

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