# Cursor (Anysphere)

Source: https://useronboarding.ai/companies/cursor

- Category: Onboarding for AI products
- Type: Dev tools
- Product: https://cursor.com

Cursor has moved beyond a one-time install wizard to persistent setup checklists: a "Your setup" card on the web dashboard (connect GitHub/GitLab, Slack, plugins, cloud environment) and a "Getting Started" progress card in the desktop sidebar, plus a cursor.com/onboard page for picking a repo so cloud agents can run and test it. Public forum threads show the checklists are sticky when completion detection misses.

## Notes

- The dashboard "Your setup" checklist (April 2026 forum screenshot) has four items — Connect GitHub or GitLab, Connect Slack, Extend Cursor with plugins, and "Set up your cloud environment for faster, parallelizable agents everywhere" with a Set up button — shown directly above an AI Line Edits contribution heatmap and streak stats.
- A Cursor staffer confirmed the checklist "doesn't detect cloud agent usage for individual accounts (only team-based setups)", leaving users stuck at 3/4 even though the feature worked; a second user reported the "Getting started" flow wouldn't disappear after finishing environment setup.
- The desktop app sidebar carries a "Getting Started 2/3" card with a progress ring and a single next action ("Connect Slack"); an August 2026 thread shows it staying at 2/3 after Slack was linked until the app was restarted.
- cursor.com/onboard frames repo setup around the payoff — headline "Get demos, not diffs" — asking the user to select a repository and provide environment secrets so agents can test their work; one thread shows the dropdown empty ("No repositories available") for a ~300-project GitLab org.
- An older 2024 thread shows the original IDE welcome flow tracked progress too: users saw "20% done" in the WELCOME section and could not re-trigger onboarding after skipping steps, even after reinstalling and clearing ~/Library files.
- Cursor designer John Bai announced in a public LinkedIn post (2026) that Cursor shipped in-product onboarding tips. The post gives no design rationale. A commenter pointed to the gap it fills: users find useful features months after they start (LinkedIn).

## Patterns

setup checklist, progress indicator, integration connect steps, benefit-led headline, persistent getting-started card

## Screens

- ![Dashboard "Your setup" checklist at 3/4 (GitHub, Slack, plugins done; cloud environment pending) above the AI Line Edits heatmap](https://useronboarding.ai/images/cursor-1.jpg) Dashboard "Your setup" checklist at 3/4 (GitHub, Slack, plugins done; cloud environment pending) above the AI Line Edits heatmap (source: https://forum.cursor.com/t/stuck-on-cloud-environment-setup-3-4-new-your-setup-checklist-won-t-finish/158678)
- ![Desktop app sidebar with a "Getting Started 2/3" card and Connect Slack button](https://useronboarding.ai/images/cursor-3.jpg) Desktop app sidebar with a "Getting Started 2/3" card and Connect Slack button (source: https://forum.cursor.com/t/slack-and-desktop-getting-started-still-show-connect-link-after-slack-is-already-linked/168215)
- ![cursor.com/onboard: "Get demos, not diffs" repo picker showing "No repositories available" with Refresh / Add Repositories](https://useronboarding.ai/images/cursor-2.jpg) cursor.com/onboard: "Get demos, not diffs" repo picker showing "No repositories available" with Refresh / Add Repositories (source: https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-onboard-not-showing-repositories/160417)

## Articles

- [Shipped onboarding tips in Cursor (John Bai)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-bai_shipped-onboarding-tips-in-cursor-if-you-activity-7463354101674835968-R0CW): LinkedIn post by John Bai, Cursor designer (by the product team)
- [Stuck on cloud environment setup (3/4) — new "Your setup" checklist won't finish](https://forum.cursor.com/t/stuck-on-cloud-environment-setup-3-4-new-your-setup-checklist-won-t-finish/158678): Cursor Community Forum
- [Slack and desktop Getting Started still show Connect/Link after Slack is already linked](https://forum.cursor.com/t/slack-and-desktop-getting-started-still-show-connect-link-after-slack-is-already-linked/168215): Cursor Community Forum
- [Cursor onboard not showing repositories](https://forum.cursor.com/t/cursor-onboard-not-showing-repositories/160417): Cursor Community Forum
- [Re-trigger the onboarding experience](https://forum.cursor.com/t/re-trigger-the-onboarding-experience/21086): Cursor Community Forum

## Cited in

- [Do product tours still work?](https://useronboarding.ai/questions#tours)