I have a few separate codebases in different folders on the machine that for Cursor’s purposes can be considered one multi-root Thing (capital T).
Was looking for docs or other guidance on the Cursor app UI and the above workflow. In particular I was hoping to understand:
What a “repository” is, and if it is different from a git repository
How to add a multi-folder repository without first adding each individual folder as an individual repository and then creating a new repository that includes those
How to resurrect a repository that has been “remove from sidebar”'d
How to delete a repository
What “archive” (in context menu for an agent) means and how it would differ from “delete” and if “delete” is an option somewhere else
I have bumbled through and got it working (quite well in some instances, thank you Cursor team) but I don’t really understand the overall concepts of how the UI is structured or what it expects of me.
Hey, thanks for the detailed request. I’ll go point by point. This is all intended behavior in the Agents Window.
What “repository” means, and how it differs from a git repo
By default, the sidebar groups by Repository, so repositories show up first. You can change the grouping to Workspaces / Repositories / Environments / Time / Status in the sidebar settings menu. A repository row usually matches a git repo, based on its remote URL, but a normal opened folder can also show as its own row. So it’s not strictly git, it’s more like a project you opened.
Add a multi-folder workspace without manually adding each folder
Use Set Up Workspace in the footer of the project picker when creating a new agent (the folders icon). This opens the multi-root picker. Select 2+ folders, or use Add Folder to pick from disk, set a name, and confirm. Cursor will create the workspace for you. You don’t need to create separate sidebar entries first. Editing folders in an existing workspace may not be available on every build.
Restore a repository after Remove from Sidebar
For a normal folder or repo, this is a soft hide, not a delete. Nothing on disk is touched. To bring it back, just open or select that folder again in the New Agent picker, or start an agent on it, and the section will show up again.
Special case: the Home section. If you hide Home itself, reopening it does not bring it back. This is a known issue we’re tracking. Workaround: open the sidebar customization menu (the settings icon at the top of the Agents panel) and toggle the source filter, for example Automations, off then on a few times. That usually makes hidden sections show again. If that doesn’t help, the most reliable option is to open any folder or workspace. Then new chats are created outside the Home scope and stay visible. If neither option works, post here and I’ll add your case to the report.
Delete a repository
There’s no separate hard delete. Remove from Sidebar is the delete action for the entry. It only hides the repository in the Agents Window. It never deletes files.
Archive vs delete for an agent
Archive hides the chat or agent from the list, but keeps all history, and it’s reversible. To restore it: in Customize Sidebar enable Archived Chats, then hover the chat and click Unarchive. For an unsent draft, the action is called Discard. There’s no separate hard delete for an agent in the sidebar. Archive is the intended way to remove a chat with the option to restore it.
A couple helpful threads on related topics:
General overview:
Let me know if you want me to dig deeper on any part.