Automation - Failed to start background composer: [not_found] Error

Support Bug Reports
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1

Hi, I was giving your code hosting platform a go, and set up a web hook trigger, but it fails to start with this error:

Failed to start background composer: [not_found] Error

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
  • Something else…

Describe the Bug
Running my workflow automation either via the test run or a real web hook fails with an error Failed to start background composer: [not_found] Error

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. Go to https://cursor.com/automations and create a new web hook triggered automation
  2. Try to test it with the default payload
  3. Error

Expected Behavior
The web hook triggers the automation

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

image
image416×496 19 KB

If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled

-

Additional Information

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue
2

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Editor, Tab & Chat (autocomplete, Composer, in-editor agent)
  • Terminal & commands
  • Models, pricing & API keys (availability, Auto/Max, BYOK/Bedrock)
  • MCP & tools
  • Cloud Agents & Automations (cursor.com/agents, scheduled/event)
  • BugBot & Code Review
  • Cursor CLI
  • Cursor Mobile
  • Remote (SSH / Dev Containers / WSL)
  • Account, billing & login
  • Something else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.

Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!

  1. …
  2. …
  3. …

Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?

Screenshots / Screen Recordings
If applicable, attach images or videos (.jpg, .png, .gif, .mp4, .mov)

Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)

For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…

Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.

Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

6

Hey, thanks for the report and the screenshot, it clears things up. Automation is set up for the repo sila-skandia/bfstats on the main branch, and it fails at startup because the Cursor GitHub App doesn’t have access to that repo or org. That’s why you see the wrapped [not_found] error, it’s really a repo access issue.

Most likely, Cursor is connected to a different GitHub account than the one that owns the sila-skandia org. Two ways to fix it:

  • Keep using the GitHub repo: grant the Cursor GitHub App access to the sila-skandia org or repo in Dashboard → Integrations, where the GitHub App install is managed. Then rerun Run Test.
  • Use Origin: if you want to run automation on the Origin-hosted version, select the Origin repo in Environment codebase on cursor.com, not the GitHub URL. Note that the repo only becomes runnable after the initial mirror sync completes, usually about a minute after import.

Try granting access via Integrations and rerun the test, and let me know if the message changes.