Feature Request: License Key Authentication (JetBrains-style)

Ideas Feature Requests
1

Feature request for product/service

Cursor IDE

Describe the request

Currently, Cursor requires users to sign in with an email account to access their subscription. It would be great to support an alternative licensing model similar to JetBrains products.

Proposed Solution

Allow users to activate Cursor using a purchased license key, without requiring email-based authentication. Users would simply enter their license key in the application and start using Cursor.

Benefits
Easier usage in offline or restricted environments.
More convenient for enterprise and corporate customers.
Avoids dependency on account login and email authentication.
Familiar experience for developers coming from JetBrains products.
Simplifies license management for teams and organizations.
Example Workflow
User purchases a Cursor license.
Receives a license key.
Opens Cursor and selects “Activate with License Key”.
Enters the key and immediately gains access to the licensed features, similar to JetBrains IDEs.

This would provide users with more flexibility and improve the overall licensing experience.

5

Hey, thanks for the feature request. The idea makes sense.

Right now we don’t have license key activation like JetBrains. The main reason is that Cursor’s AI features run in the cloud and are billed per account, so signing in isn’t just a login formality, it’s what usage is tied to. Because of that, offline activation via a key isn’t a quick toggle, it’s a major change to the model.

There isn’t a direct equivalent request on the forum yet, so I’ll keep this thread open. If anyone in the community has a similar need offline or air-gapped environments, or simpler license management please vote and share your use case. That’s the best way to show demand and helps us prioritize.

If the main pain is an offline or restricted environment, please share more details about your setup. That’s more helpful than focusing on the key mechanism itself.