# Agent runs in system shell instead of configured default terminal profile

**URL:** <https://forum.cursor.com/t/agent-runs-in-system-shell-instead-of-configured-default-terminal-profile/151871>\
**Category:** Feature Requests\
**Tags:** terminal\
**Created:** [February 14, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/agent-runs-in-system-shell-instead-of-configured-default-terminal-profile/151871 "2026-02-14T16:39:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Xaeyo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/cursor1/user_avatar/forum.cursor.com/xaeyo/32/98290_2.png) [@Xaeyo](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Xaeyo)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/agent-runs-in-system-shell-instead-of-configured-default-terminal-profile/151871/1 "2026-02-14T16:39:20Z")

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### Feature request for product/service

Terminal

**Problem**  
When Cursor Agent runs shell commands, it uses the system default shell (e.g. `/bin/zsh`) and ignores the user’s `terminal.integrated.defaultProfile` setting in settings.json.

**Impact**  
If my dev environment (PATH, nvm, etc.) is configured in another shell (e.g. fish), the Agent runs in the system shell and doesn’t see those tools, causing `command not found` for node, pnpm, etc.

**Expected behavior**  
The shell used by the Agent should respect `terminal.integrated.defaultProfile`, or there could be a dedicated setting (e.g. `cursor.agent.shell`) to choose which shell the Agent uses.

**Workaround**  
I had to duplicate PATH setup in my system default shell’s config (e.g. `~/.zshrc`), which is fragile when I switch node versions in my main shell.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zsolt\_Jenei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a8b319/32.png) [@Zsolt\_Jenei](https://forum.cursor.com/u/Zsolt_Jenei)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://forum.cursor.com/t/agent-runs-in-system-shell-instead-of-configured-default-terminal-profile/151871/3 "2026-02-23T15:43:47Z")

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Same issue here. My default terminal is Git Bash (terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows) and it works for me — I use it in the integrated terminal for all my work. The agent does not use the same shell; in my setup it tries WSL (and fails, since I only have Docker Desktop, no Ubuntu) or uses PowerShell. I work on Windows with Git Bash by choice and need the agent to use the same shell. Please treat as the same request: agent should use the configured default terminal profile.