How to Install Cursor AI on Ubuntu (The Easy Way)

🚀 How to Install Cursor on Ubuntu (The Easy Way)
If you're looking for a clean, developer-focused code editor with AI-assisted features, Cursor is gaining a lot of attention — especially for developers working on Linux. While Cursor is distributed as an .AppImage, installing it on Ubuntu is very simple.

This guide walks you through installing Cursor Editor v0.49.6 (or later) on Ubuntu step-by-step.

🧠 What Is Cursor?
Cursor is a powerful, AI-integrated code editor based on Visual Studio Code. It comes bundled with built-in Copilot support, AI chat features, and seamless GitHub integration — perfect for modern software development.

🧰 Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure:

You're using Ubuntu 20.04 or later

You have internet access

You’ve downloaded the .AppImage from the Cursor official site

📝 Step-by-Step Installation Instructions

1. Download the AppImage
   Head over to cursor.sh and download the Linux (AppImage) version. It will be saved in your Downloads folder by default.

2. Open the Terminal and Navigate to the File
   bash
   cd ~/Downloads

3. Make the AppImage Executable
   bash
   Copy
   Edit
   chmod +x Cursor-0.49.6-x86_64.AppImage
   This command grants permission to run the AppImage like a program.

4. Run Cursor
   Now launch it:

bash
./Cursor-0.49.6-x86_64.AppImage
No installation needed — it will open directly!

📂 (Optional) Move Cursor to a Permanent Location
To organize things better:

bash
Copy
Edit
mkdir -p ~/Applications
mv Cursor-0.49.6-x86_64.AppImage ~/Applications/
Now you can run it with:

bash

~/Applications/Cursor-0.49.6-x86_64.AppImage
📌 (Optional) Add Cursor to Ubuntu Menu
Want Cursor to appear in your "Applications" menu? Do this:

bash
Copy
Edit
nano ~/.local/share/applications/cursor.desktop
Paste the following:

ini

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Cursor
Exec=/home/YOUR_USERNAME/Applications/Cursor-0.49.6-x86_64.AppImage
Icon=utilities-terminal
Type=Application
Categories=Development;
🔁 Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your Ubuntu username.

Save and exit with:

Ctrl+O, Enter to save

Ctrl+X to exit Nano

You should now see Cursor in your Applications menu!

🧪 Troubleshooting Tips
AppImage won’t run? Make sure it’s marked executable.

Permission denied? Use chmod +x again.

Still no icon in the menu? Log out and back in or run update-desktop-database.

✅ Final Thoughts
That’s it! You now have Cursor running on Ubuntu. It’s fast, powerful, and comes with AI tools to supercharge your coding workflow.

If you're a developer working on Linux, Cursor is absolutely worth checking out.