cursor-nixos-flake/README.md

Self-Updating Cursor Flake

A Nix flake that provides the Cursor code editor with automatic daily updates via CI (GitHub Actions-compatible workflows, e.g. GitHub Actions or Gitea Actions).

This fork includes native aarch64-linux (linux-arm64) support in addition to x86_64-linux.

Features

• 🚀 Self-updating: Automatically checks for new Cursor versions daily
• 🔧 Manual updates: Local script for immediate updates
• 🛡️ Robust: Proper error handling and fallbacks
• 📦 AppImage-based: Uses Cursor's official AppImage for maximum compatibility
• 🎯 Linux x86_64 + aarch64: Supports both AMD64 and ARM64 (aarch64) Linux

Quick Start

Method 1: Direct Installation

# Install Cursor directly
nix profile install git+https://git.chiasson.cloud/Olivier/cursor-nixos-flake

# Run Cursor
cursor --version

Method 2: Add to Your Flake

Add to your flake.nix inputs:

inputs.cursor.url = "git+https://git.chiasson.cloud/Olivier/cursor-nixos-flake";

Then use in your configuration:

# For NixOS system configuration
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  cursor.packages.${pkgs.system}.cursor
];

# For home-manager
home.packages = with pkgs; [
  cursor.packages.${pkgs.system}.cursor
];

# For devShell
devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
  packages = with pkgs; [
    cursor.packages.${pkgs.system}.cursor
  ];
};

Method 3: Temporary Run

# Run without installing
nix run git+https://git.chiasson.cloud/Olivier/cursor-nixos-flake

# Build and run
nix build git+https://git.chiasson.cloud/Olivier/cursor-nixos-flake
./result/bin/cursor

Manual Update

To manually update Cursor to the latest version:

./update-cursor.sh

To update to a specific version:

./update-cursor.sh 1.8.0

How It Works

Automatic Updates

In CI (or manually), ./update-cursor.sh can be run daily and:

1. Checks Cursor's API for the latest version
2. Only updates if a new version is available
3. Downloads the AppImage and calculates SHA256 hash
4. Updates the managed block in flake.nix with the new version and per-architecture sources (x86_64-linux + aarch64-linux)
5. Tests the build and commits changes
6. Pushes the update back to the repository

Manual Updates

The update-cursor.sh script provides:

• Version checking and comparison
• Safe updates with backups
• Build validation
• Interactive confirmation prompts

API Endpoints

• x86_64 AppImage Download: https://api2.cursor.sh/updates/download/golden/linux-x64/cursor/{version}
• aarch64 AppImage Download: https://api2.cursor.sh/updates/download/golden/linux-arm64/cursor/{version}

Version pointers / "channels"

Cursor exposes a few redirect-style pointers that may not always move in lockstep:

• .../cursor/latest: “promoted” latest build for that channel. This can lag a new release during phased rollout / promotion.
• .../cursor/{major.minor} (e.g. .../cursor/2.2): latest patch within that major.minor line. This can point to a newer build earlier than latest.

Concrete example (this has happened in practice):

• .../cursor/latest redirects to Cursor-2.2.43-...AppImage
• .../cursor/2.2 redirects to Cursor-2.2.44-...AppImage

In that situation, latest is behind. This flake’s updater checks both and will choose 2.2.44.

This flake’s update-cursor.sh default (auto) strategy:

• Checks multiple pointers: latest, the current installed major.minor (e.g. 2.2), and (if different) latest’s own major.minor (e.g. 2.3).
• Picks the highest semver: so it won’t stick to an old minor, but it also won’t miss patch releases when latest lags.

Testing

# Test flake syntax
nix flake check

# Test building
nix build '.#cursor' --dry-run

Development

Customization

• Update frequency: Modify cron schedule in .github/workflows/update-cursor.yml
• API endpoints: Update URLs in workflow and update script
• Build options: Modify the buildCursor function in flake.nix

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.