Cursor is a modern AI-powered IDE designed for developers who want to boost productivity. Since Cursor is distributed as an AppImage, it can run on most Linux distributions without complex setup. In this guide, we’ll walk through installing and configuring Cursor IDE on Ubuntu.
Step 1: Download Cursor AppImage
First, download the latest Cursor AppImage from the official website.
The file will usually be saved in your ~/Downloads folder.
cd Downloads/
Step 2: Make the AppImage Executable
Give the downloaded file executable permissions:
chmod a+x Cursor-1.5.7-x86_64.AppImage
Step 3: Install Required Dependencies
On Ubuntu, AppImage files require libfuse2 to run. Install it using:
sudo apt install libfuse2t64
Step 4: Move AppImage to /opt
To keep things clean, move the AppImage to /opt:
sudo mv Cursor-1.5.7-x86_64.AppImage /opt/cursor.AppImage
Step 5: Create a Desktop Entry
To make Cursor show up in the application menu, create a .desktop file:
sudo nano /usr/share/applications/cursor.desktop
Paste the following content:
[Desktop Entry] Name=Cursor Exec=/opt/cursor.AppImage Icon=/home/USERNAME/.local/share/icons/cursor-logo.png Type=Application Categories=Development;
Replace USERNAME with your actual Ubuntu username, and ensure the cursor-logo.png icon exists in that path.
Save and exit.
Step 6: Create a Launcher Script
For convenience, create a command-line shortcut:
sudo nano /usr/local/bin/cursor
Add:
#!/bin/bash /opt/cursor.AppImage "$@" > /dev/null 2>&1 &
Then make it executable:
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cursor
Now you can launch Cursor simply by typing:
cursor
Step 7: Configure AppArmor (Optional)
To prevent AppImage sandboxing issues, configure AppArmor:
sudo nano /etc/apparmor.d/cursor-appimage
Insert:
#include <tunables/global>
profile cursor /opt/cursor.AppImage flags=(unconfined) {
#include <abstractions/base>
/opt/cursor.AppImage mr,
owner @{HOME}/** rw,
/tmp/** rwk,
/proc/sys/kernel/yama/ptrace_scope r,
/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy*/cpuinfo_max_freq r,
}
Apply the profile:
sudo apparmor_parser -r /etc/apparmor.d/cursor-appimage
Step 8: Launch Cursor
Now you can start Cursor either from the application menu or via terminal:
cursor
Done!
You have successfully installed Cursor IDE on Ubuntu. From here, you can start exploring its AI-powered coding features and customize it to your workflow.