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Cursor CLI Jan 16: Plan Mode, Ask Mode, Cloud Handoff

Cursor CLI gains Plan and Ask modes, Cloud Agent handoff, word-level diffs, and one-click MCP auth. Two commands removed in breaking changes.

Cursor CLI Jan 16: Plan Mode, Ask Mode, Cloud Handoff

TL;DR

  • Plan and Ask modes now available in CLI — design before coding, explore without changes
  • Push conversations to Cloud Agents with & prefix, resume on web or mobile
  • Word-level diffs, one-click MCP auth, terminal keybinding improvements
  • Breaking: /list and /models commands removed

New

  • Plan mode in CLI — Design your approach before coding with clarifying questions. Use /plan or --mode=plan.
  • Ask mode in CLI — Explore code without making changes. Start with /ask or --mode=ask.
  • Cloud Agent handoff — Prepend & to any message to push your conversation to Cloud Agents and resume on web or mobile at cursor.com/agents.
  • Word-level inline diffs — Precise word-level highlighting shows exactly what changed in the CLI.
  • One-click MCP authentication — Connect external tools with automatic callback handling. Use /mcp list for an interactive menu to browse and configure MCP servers.
  • Session hooks — Customize agent lifecycle with hooks for session start/end, prompt, and stop events.
  • Terminal keybinding improvements — Shift+Enter now works in iTerm2, Ghostty, Kitty, Warp, and Zed. Run /setup-terminal to auto-configure Apple Terminal, Alacritty, or VS Code.
  • New CLI commands — /usage shows Cursor streaks and stats. /about displays environment and setup details.
  • Web tools for agents — Added WebFetch and WebSearch tools with approval options for granular control over web requests from MCP tools.
  • Better markdown rendering — Proper links, tables, and rules now display correctly in CLI output.

Fixed

  • Process hangs and silent failures — Agent runs are now more stable with fewer errors.
  • Terminal environment detection — Smarter detection for optimal keybindings and display across different terminals.
  • Menu and window handling — Fixed resize handling, long line truncation, and stable state on window changes.
  • Message queueing — Faster queueing and improved UX.

Breaking Changes

  • /list removed — Use /resume to see all prior conversations.
  • /models removed — Use /model to see all models or select a model.

Update Cursor CLI with npm install -g @cursor-ai/cli@latest or check the CLI docs for your platform.

Source: Cursor

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