[IMPORTANT]: Does Cursor generate original code?

Discussion
1

I have started to enjoy working with Cursor and want to use it as my main IDE. But I have doubts.

Context:
I am an experienced dev trying to decide which AI powered IDE to adopt.
When working with GitHub Copilot, I can set “Suggestions matching public code (duplication detection filter)” to “Blocked”. This is done via your GitHub account settings on GitHub.com. This should let Copilot suggest original code.

My Question:
Does Cursor generate original code or does it show code that appears online (eg. public GitHub repos, stackoverflow etc).

Reason for asking:
If Cursor suggests code from online sources which maybe under licences like MIT, Apache 2.0 etc, then we are under obligation to provide attribution when using those code snippets in our codebase. GitHub Copilot shows links to code under license if you allow public code to be suggested. You can then choose to use the code and provide appropriate attribution in your codebase.

More Context:
I see a lot of “vibe coders” sprouting up on social media like X / YouTube who don’t know software development but announce that they’ve built a clone of this app / that app. Since they admit they don’t know coding or are simply using the AI output without modifying it or checking it for plagiarism, they are subjecting themselves to IP legal risks.

I have decades of experience with software development and have worked at big corporations as well as start-ups. Since AI is the future, I want to use tools like Cursor but need clarification on this important aspect of software development.

Thanks for clarifying.

p.s. I understand that the code is generated by the models. Would Cursor be able to prevent any public code under license from being suggested like GitHub Copilot does is my concern.

2

Copilot finetunes gpt models for code auto-completion as they tell in their docs:

This model has been trained on a wide range of high quality public GitHub repositories

I think Cursor doesn’t finetunes with public code for their TAB-autocompletion so it doesn’t need to prevent it for IP risks, @deanrie could clarify this point.

3

thanks for your reply. this is an important question and let’s hope to get an official clarification from the cursor team @deanrie @truell20