Cloud Agents ignore Auto Cost default — first request always runs as Auto Balance

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cloud Agents (web agents dashboard and Cloud Agents defaults)

Describe the Bug

Team and personal Cloud Agent defaults are set to Auto Cost, and Team Cursor Router Soft Default Mode is Cost. When starting a new Cloud Agent, the composer initially reflects Cost / Auto, but as soon as the agent starts the model picker shows Auto Balance. The first user request always runs under Balance before anything can be corrected. Manually switching the picker to Auto Cost afterwards sticks for follow-ups, but that cannot undo the original request already billed/routed as Balance.

This is not a settings misconfiguration. Soft Default Mode Cost and Cloud Agents Team Default Auto Cost are both set. Personal Default Model was also set explicitly to Auto Cost (not Team Default inheritance).

Related but distinct from the Explorer subagent Auto Balance labelling issue tracked in forum topic 171737: here the main Cloud Agent start path drops Cost, and the first turn is the problem.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Team Settings → Cursor Router: Soft Default Mode = Cost; Cost mode enabled.
  2. Cloud Agents → Team Preferences → Default Model = Auto Cost.
  3. Cloud Agents → Personal Preferences → Default Model = Auto Cost (explicit).
  4. Start a new Cloud Agent without manually picking a model (so defaults should apply).
  5. Observe: after start, follow-up composer shows Auto Balance.
  6. Manually change picker to Auto Cost; send a follow-up — it stays on Cost.
  7. Note that step 4’s original request already ran before the manual fix.

Expected Behavior

New Cloud Agent runs should apply Default Model Auto Cost from the first request. The picker should show Auto Cost at start and throughout unless the user changes it.

Actual Behavior

  • Defaults: Auto Cost (team + personal) and Soft Default Mode Cost
  • At agent start: picker becomes Auto Balance
  • First request: runs as Balance (cannot be fixed after the fact)
  • After manual switch to Cost: follow-ups correctly stay on Cost

Additional evidence

  • Investigation agent id: bc-67acacda-378a-4c1e-abec-fccbe75c8af5
  • Request ID: 44964be0-c83d-4e07-aff3-39d85c994d4d
  • Account: hello at liam-cooper.co.uk (Team Plan)
  • Usage CSV labels most requests as Model=auto with no Cost/Balance field. Live picker shows Balance at start. Some same-day agents were billed as Grok 4.6 (Auto Balanced).

Operating System

Cloud Agents / Web

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No — but every new Cloud Agent’s first request is forced onto Balance despite Cost defaults, which defeats Cost as the team default for the most expensive turn (the initial prompt with full context).

Please confirm whether Cloud Agent create stores optimize_for=cost or bare Auto, and whether this is start-time routing vs label-only. Either way the first-request Cost default is not applied.

7

Hey @LiamCooper,

Most of your Cloud Agents are actually running Auto Cost from the first request - including the one you linked (bc-67acacda…), plus your dashboard/desktop/Linear starts that use your defaults (they show as plain “auto” in usage). The runs that hit Balance (your Grok 4.6 ones) came from two narrower paths:

  • API launches: an auto-smart model sent without an optimize_for value falls back to Balance. Either omit model (Cursor then uses your Auto Cost default), or pin it: { "id": "auto-smart", "params": [{ "id": "optimize_for", "value": "cost" }] }. (Cloud Agents API · Cursor Router)
  • Desktop starts in max mode that came through without the Cost param ran Balance - that part isn’t intended, and we’ve let the team know and are tracking it. For now, confirm the picker shows Auto Cost before launching or continuing from the desktop app.

If you can share what your API integration sends as model, I can confirm which path you’re hitting.

8

Hi @mohitjain, thanks for your reply.

It’s actually in the Cursor agent UI that this is showing, I’m assuming it could just potentially be a UI bug if my agent models are showing correctly. I’ve recorded a short video where you can see it switching automatically, maybe that’s useful for you.

Thanks,

Liam

9

@LiamCooper thanks, the video confirms it. The picker starts on Auto Cost and flips to Auto Balance the moment the agent launches. That flip is not intended, it’s on our side rather than your config, and we’re tracking it.

Two ways to keep runs on Cost in the meantime: after it flips, switch the picker back to Auto Cost (it sticks for follow-ups, as you saw), or start the agent from the web dashboard, which holds Auto Cost from the first request. If you want, drop an agent ID here and I’ll confirm which model that run actually used, so you know whether the label is just cosmetic or the run really went to Balance.

I’ll post here when there’s an update.