You’re right to be thinking about this. The short answer is that, as you mentioned, Cursor itself doesn’t generate code - we integrate with various AI models (Claude, GPT-4 etc) that do the actual code generation. Each model has its own approach to training and code generation.
While the underlying LLMs that power Cursor may have been trained on both permissive and non-pemissive licencesed code, the way they train means that if the model were to return a block of code, it would never be a 1-for-1 copy of any single repository, but a culmination of what the most likely answer would be to your question.
From our Terms of Service (Terms of Service | Cursor - The AI Code Editor):
- You own all code generated through Cursor
- The AI generates code based on patterns rather than copying existing code
- Similar suggestions may be provided to other users
For specific legal questions about the AI models’ training data and potential licensing issues, you’d want to check with:
- Anthropic for Claude: https://www.anthropic.com/legal
- OpenAI for GPT models: https://openai.com/policies
While the risk of exact code copying is very low since these models generate based on patterns rather than copying, if you’re developing commercial software it’s always smart to:
- Review generated code carefully
- Keep records of your development process
- Consider getting a legal opinion if you’re particularly concerned
You can read more about how we handle code generation in our docs: Cursor – Overview