# Adding "Open with Cursor" to the Windows Context Menu – Problem Solved! **URL:** \ **Category:** Built for Cursor\ **Created:** [June 25, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010 "2024-06-25T11:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@hex](https://forum.cursor.com/u/hex)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 11:40am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/1 "2024-06-25T11:40:21Z")
Hey everyone, this is my first post on this forum. So, I downloaded Cursor today and absolutely loved it. It’s got some amazing features and definitely deserves a spot in my daily toolkit. But then I noticed something that bugged me – I couldn’t open directories with Cursor directly from the context menu like I can with VSCode. I could not live without this feature from my main IDE, so I had to do something about it. This also seemed like a great contribution for this community, and I wanted to make it as easy as possible to download for anyone who wants this feature. I created a little utility that adds a shiny new “Open with Cursor” option to your right-click context menu in Windows Explorer when you right click on empty space within directories: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/2X/e/e4453b1ea2e5ea6be466d11664649b8aedf12d3f.png) Ignore the icon, which is either due to me not restarting my PC (apparently some regedit context menu updates only display after you do that) or some other issue I cba’d to finish. You can also set a custom `ico` as your image, but you’ll have to adjust the source a bit. Note that this _only works_ for selections on empty space within directories, and would need to be expanded upon to also support context menus that appear when you right click a directory. As you see, you can just click that context menu item to open the directory with Cursor as you would with VSCode. # How You Can Get It Just head over to my [GitHub repo here](https://github.com/hexcreator/open-with-cursor) and grab the latest release. Run `install.exe` to add the context menu item. If you ever want to remove it, just run `uninstall.exe` – easy peasy. All of the code is public and you can compile it on your own if you don’t want to download my provided executables. # How it Works This program provides a way to add and remove a context menu item in Windows Explorer for opening directories with the Cursor application. The **install.cpp** file checks for elevated privileges and, if necessary, re-runs itself as an administrator before creating registry keys to add the context menu item. The **uninstall.cpp** file deletes the registry keys to remove the context menu item. The installation process uses a default path for the Cursor executable but allows for a custom path via command-line arguments. Compilation instructions are provided in the **README.md** file, which also includes usage instructions for downloading and running the executables. The program uses Windows API functions to interact with the registry and manage process elevation. # Future Improvements I’ll leave this to the community or future me to tackle: 1. Ensuring the icon is 100% right - it might be, but it might not be. 2. Adding support for context menus that appear when a directory name is clicked. 3. Figuring out other ways to make it better. # Final Note I hope you guys enjoy this little tool. I am happy to contribute to this wonderful community for this amazing IDE. Thank you for reading and I hope this improves your life, even by just a tad! ---
**Author:** ![Fosberg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9a140/32.png) [@Fosberg](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Fosberg)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 12:33pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/2 "2024-06-25T12:33:47Z")
This is huge.!! You just used a Cursor and solved a problem? I will install this util, I think it’s an easy way to start a project with Cursor. Well done Bro. ---
**Author:** ![hex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@hex](https://forum.cursor.com/u/hex)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/3 "2024-06-25T12:34:00Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/2X/0/02aa41afcd697df11c7f75207dfd499cab45a6d2.png) Now the icon displays properly 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JuWnL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/juwnl/32/2651_2.png) [@JuWnL](https://forum.cursor.com/u/JuWnL)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2024, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/4 "2024-07-18T08:27:56Z")
Appreciate all the excellent engineers on this forum who create tools to make other engineers’ lives easier. We are so lucky to live in this world. ---
**Author:** ![puliczek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/puliczek/32/3699_2.png) [@puliczek](https://forum.cursor.com/u/puliczek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 2:51am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/5 "2024-08-31T02:51:58Z")
Great job Hex! I built a powershell script for that and it is open source: > **[GitHub - Puliczek/open-with-cursor-context-menu: Add "Open with Cursor" to your context menu for...](https://github.com/Puliczek/open-with-cursor-context-menu)** > > Add "Open with Cursor" to your context menu for files, folders, and background areas. ---
**Author:** ![eatcosmos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/eatcosmos/32/4886_2.png) [@eatcosmos](https://forum.cursor.com/u/eatcosmos)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/6 "2024-09-14T05:26:01Z")
thanks has also add reg method, download this bat and double click run check Cursor.exe abs path is: “C:\Users\*_username_\*\AppData\Local\Programs\Cursor\Cursor.exe” [raw.githubusercontent.com/eatcosmos/cursor\_ext\_open-with-cursor-context-menu/main/cursorOpenFolder.bat](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eatcosmos/cursor_ext_open-with-cursor-context-menu/main/cursorOpenFolder.bat) ---
**Author:** ![hex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c2a13f/32.png) [@hex](https://forum.cursor.com/u/hex)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/7 "2024-10-07T06:12:12Z")
Thank you all! Just wanted to post an update regarding the latest version - now you can use the tool on folders and other file types, removing the limitation of having to select empty space within a directory. ---
**Author:** ![klingenbergh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/klingenbergh/32/8664_2.png) [@klingenbergh](https://forum.cursor.com/u/klingenbergh)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 3:08am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/8 "2024-10-16T03:08:44Z")
Smooth bro 🙂 Saved me some time! ---
**Author:** ![mreduar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/mreduar/32/14971_2.png) [@mreduar](https://forum.cursor.com/u/mreduar)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 6:19am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/9 "2024-12-08T06:19:36Z")
I have spent more time registering on this page to thank you than installing the solution. Thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![ghazimuaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/ghazimuaz/32/26397_2.png) [@ghazimuaz](https://forum.cursor.com/u/ghazimuaz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 6:17am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/10 "2025-02-13T06:17:51Z")
Just installed, Thanks very much. ---
**Author:** ![kaushal-aubie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/kaushal-aubie/32/40450_2.png) [@kaushal-aubie](https://forum.cursor.com/u/kaushal-aubie)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 11:09am UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/11 "2025-03-25T11:09:26Z")
You can follow this guide for linux/ubuntu > ---
**Author:** ![cinderblock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/cinderblock/32/79471_2.png) [@cinderblock](https://forum.cursor.com/u/cinderblock)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 8:23pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/12 "2026-01-05T20:23:34Z")
Anyone have a way to add Cursor to the new Windows 11 context menu? Similar to Code Insiders: ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/original/3X/2/7/2715198d14da81ebc225727bb590abf3fcd9d6e2.png) ---
**Author:** ![Herberth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9de053/32.png) [@Herberth](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Herberth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 11:49pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/adding-open-with-cursor-to-the-windows-context-menu-problem-solved/6010/13 "2026-03-31T23:49:58Z")
Thankss!!!