Cursor

Host entry

A desktop app or standalone editor owns window state, sign-in, project indexing, embedded terminal behavior, and local product storage.

Host owns

The desktop host owns orchestration UI, model routing, approval UX, background jobs, and any cloud or app-store managed extension points.

Connector role

agent-connector can write documented workspace/global config and content files, but it does not replace the desktop runtime or UI shell. Current wired connector surfaces: MCP server, Hooks, Commands, Skills, Subagents, Memory.

Implementation consequence

Desktop surfaces need source-review separation because product pages often document capabilities while runtime state lives in app-managed storage. No visible host-native gap is currently tracked for this surface.

Source pass

Current source review findings are kept as the first architecture section so readers can separate external evidence from the generated local coverage model.

• The public repository is a product tracker with download and feature links rather than full product source, so the page classifies Cursor as closed/product-homepage evidence.
• Cursor is a desktop IDE/editor surface, not a terminal CLI row, which is why its entry-point diagram starts from Desktop.
• Architecture claims should stay conservative: local file surfaces are represented through agent-connector adapter and platform research, while proprietary runtime internals are not inferred.

Runtime boundary

The adapter target is the desktop IDE host, not a transparent open-source CLI. Cursor owns the editor shell, chat/agent UI, indexing, model selection, extension runtime, and workspace trust boundaries, while agent-connector can only document verified writable surfaces.

• The GitHub repository functions as a public issue tracker and download pointer rather than complete runtime source.
• Claims about internals should therefore be source-light and evidence-labeled.
• The row belongs in the desktop band because the product is an IDE-style host.

MCP registration

Cursor registers MCP servers in JSON files the adapter writes directly: user scope ~/.cursor/mcp.json and project scope <project>/.cursor/mcp.json, both under the mcpServers root key. Cursor supports its own ${env:VAR} interpolation, so environment, header, and URL values are rewritten to that token instead of being baked into the file.

• The paths come from the adapter (adapters/cursor), not from Visual Studio Code ancestry.
• Project-scope MCP is workspace-visible and can be committed alongside rules and commands.

Hook bridge

Cursor is a json-stdio hook host. The adapter writes <configDir>/hooks.json with the shape { version, hooks: { <cursorEvent>: [ { command, matcher? } ] } }; each entry is a flat command object rather than Claude's { matcher, hooks: [...] } wrapper. Replies are one JSON object on stdout with exit 0.

• deny and ask carry permission plus user_message; modify carries updated_input.
• Context injection uses agent_message on PreToolUse and additional_context on PostToolUse and SessionStart.
• IDE commands and agent modes remain host UI affordances outside the hook contract.

Content surfaces

Cursor's useful content surfaces are rules, agent instructions, commands, project context, and editor-indexed knowledge. These should be represented as IDE content and memory surfaces rather than copied into CLI dot-directory assumptions.

• Rules and project context are central to the host learning experience.
• Workspace indexing and codebase search are host-owned capabilities outside agent-connector's file writer.

Marketplace and host-only affordances

Cursor's host-only value is the integrated IDE experience: agent UI, codebase index, model routing, editor actions, and extension ecosystem compatibility. The archive should mark it as source-light so students know which claims come from product surface evidence rather than source inspection.

• Source-light does not mean unsupported; it means internal architecture claims need stricter wording.
• Feature parity with VS Code extensions should not be assumed for connector writes.

Host-specific shape

Cursor is a desktop IDE surface backed by local MCP, hooks, rules, commands, skills, and subagent-style configuration; the adapter targets the byte-addressable desktop/editor files rather than a terminal CLI process.

• Form factor: Desktop.
• Native surfaces: MCP server, Hooks, Commands, Skills, Subagents, Memory.
• Wired surfaces: MCP server, Hooks, Commands, Skills, Subagents, Memory.
• Visible gaps: none.

Hooks

Hooks enter through a host-launched command that exchanges event JSON over stdio.

MCP

The adapter writes this host's native MCP registration dialect, including its root key, scope, transport fields, and environment syntax.

Memory

Managed memory text is written into the rules or memory file this host actually reads, with ownership markers for reversible uninstall.

Marketplace and affordances

Current install is a direct native-file write path; any package artifact is manual unless a driver is added.

• Runtime handlers: none.
• User-visible affordances: Users see managed commands + skills + subagents + memory surfaces after install; runtime-only surfaces stay behind the host boundary..