Cursor do not use personal token

Support Help
1

Hi. I configured personal token, but Cursor still do not use it:
Cursor dashboard

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OPenAI dashboard

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8

Hi Eugen, thanks for sharing the screenshots.

The charge that you’re seeing is a minimal Cursor Token fee, which applies to all requests except Auto Mode. So it applies to regular models that you choose in the model picker, as well as BYOK requests.

The Cursor Token Fee (CTF) is not the same as the model provider’s token cost; it covers Cursor-side infrastructure and product features around the request, while the provider usage is billed through your own API account.

If you’re not seeing any usage at all in your OpenAI dashboard, though, that may mean the request is not being routed through your personal key. In that case, please double-check that the key is enabled in Cursor settings and that the selected model supports BYOK.

You can read more here: Cursor Token Rate | Cursor Docs

9
  1. “Use the Auto model, which is exempt from the Cursor Token Rate.” what does this means? How the requests work in this case?
  2. what is “BYOK”?
  3. It would be nice to have a document which describes whole infra and how requests is processed. Having this users could understand better the tool and how to use it.

Thank you.

11

Hi @Eugen_Konkov
Good questions. “Use Auto” means selecting the Auto model in the model picker. Auto is exempt from the additional Cursor Token Rate, so you won’t see that separate $0.25 / 1M token fee on Auto requests. Auto still uses Cursor’s normal request flow and has its own fixed token pricing, but Cursor chooses the model behind the scenes for each request. Auto selects the model for each request to balance intelligence, cost, and reliability, as well as regional model availability. Auto does not use BYOK.

BYOK means “Bring Your Own Key.” If you add your own OpenAI/Anthropic/Google/etc. API key in Cursor Settings > Models, Cursor can use that key for supported provider models. In that case, the provider usage is billed by your provider account, and for non-Auto agent requests, the Cursor Token Rate can still apply. The API key is sent to Cursor’s backend with the request because Cursor does final prompt building and routing, but it is not stored on Cursor’s servers.

We have more info on each of these items here: