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Cursor Bridge – Run Unlimited Claude Code on Your Cursor Subscription

A new open-source Rust binary called cursor-bridge lets Cursor subscription users run Anthropic's Claude Code CLI for free on Cursor's backend, eliminating separate API costs. The tool, available via cargo install or prebuilt binaries, automatically proxies Anthropic API calls through Cursor's agent CLI without requiring manual configuration or background daemons. Cursor-bridge is not affiliated with Anthropic or Cursor/Anysphere and is offered under the MIT license.

read3 min views1 publishedJul 26, 2026
Cursor Bridge – Run Unlimited Claude Code on Your Cursor Subscription
Image: source

One binary. Claude Code on Cursor's backend. Zero config.

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.

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.


cargo install cursor-bridge

cursor-bridge

Or download a binary from Releases.

macOS orLinux- Cursor subscription (with agent

CLI in PATH) - Claude Code CLI ( claude

in PATH) macOS: token auto-read from keychain** Linux**: setCURSOR_TOKEN

env var (no keychain fallback)

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.

Linux: requiresCURSOR_TOKEN

env var (no keychain support).No workspace sandboxing— the agent runs in your current directory.** Single account**— no multi-account rotation (yet).

This project is not affiliated with Anthropic or Cursor/Anysphere. Use at your own risk.

MIT

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