.deb won't update using GDebi

Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

When updating Cursor in Linux Mint, the new .deb file won’t update using GDebi, complaining:

Error: Breaks existing package ‘cursor’ conflict: cursor()

But it will update using dpkg.

Steps to Reproduce

  • have Cursor already installed on your Linux Mint system
  • download a newer version of cursor.deb e.g. cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb
  • double-click on cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb → opens it with GDebi
  • see it not installing the update

Expected Behavior

It should update Cursor with the new version

Screenshots / Screen Recordings

949823e0-f89b-480a-9f02-7212fcd0a9a4.png
949823e0-f89b-480a-9f02-7212fcd0a9a4.png550×447 15.4 KB

Operating System

Linux

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Version: 2.1.39
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: 60d42bed27e5775c43ec0428d8c653c49e58e260
Date: 2025-11-27T02:30:49.286Z
Electron: 37.7.0
Chromium: 138.0.7204.251
Node.js: 22.20.0
V8: 13.8.258.32-electron.0
OS: Linux x64 6.14.0-36-generic

Additional Information

The .deb file installs with dpkg from the command line fine:

$ sudo dpkg -i cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb
(Reading database … 542227 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb …
Unpacking cursor (2.1.39-1764211366) over (2.1.34-1764092994) …
Setting up cursor (2.1.39-1764211366) …
Processing triggers for mailcap (3.70+nmu1ubuntu1) …
Processing triggers for gnome-menus (3.36.0-1.1ubuntu3) …
Processing triggers for mate-menus (1.26.1+mint1) …
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.27-2build1) …
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info (2.4-4) …

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

2

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known issue with GDebi-it’s not specific to Cursor. The same behavior happens with VirtualBox, Opera, Sublime, and other packages on Linux Mint and Ubuntu.

GDebi handles package updates incorrectly when the new version “conflicts” with itself. dpkg handles this fine.

Working options:

  1. Via dpkg (like you’re already doing):
    sudo dpkg -i cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb

  2. Via apt (recommended, resolves dependencies):
    sudo apt install ./cursor_2.1.39_amd64.deb

  3. Remove the old version before GDebi:
    sudo apt remove cursor
    then open the .deb in GDebi

This is a GDebi bug, not Cursor. For updates, just use dpkg or apt-it works without issues.

3

You could also formulate you .deb so that it works with GDebi, as thousands of .deb packages do, instead of offering workarounds.

4

Thanks for the feedback. We understand your point - indeed, many .deb packages work with GDebi without issues. We’ll consider improving compatibility with GDebi in future releases.