Inconsistent update process for Cursor IDE

Support Bug Reports
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1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

I am using Ubuntu Linux and there are 3 ways to update Cursor when there is a new version (that I know of). The problem is that there are issues with all of them. Here are the 3 paths and the issues:

  1. I get a popup inside Cursor IDE showing “There is an available update”. When I click it instead of triggering an update it just points me to download the new version but then I have to install it manually. That’s why I never use this one.
  2. sudo apt update / sudo apt upgrade - I use this most often. When I do this the Cursor IDE version gets updated and I can see it in Help → About but I immediately get the “There is an available update” popup on startup even though I just updated. This leaves me unsure whether I still need to do something manually.
  3. Sometimes I get an update notification from Ubuntu’s App Center for many apps at once and when Cursor is there too it seems to update it correctly but the App Center update popup shows very rarely. Probably once in several months.

Steps to Reproduce

Use Cursor IDE in Linux Ubuntu and wait for the “There is an available update” popup. Use sudo apt update & sudo apt upgrade in the terminal. Restart the Cursor IDE. The “There is an available update” popup shows again even though you just updated.

Expected Behavior

I expect that updating the app works correctly.

Operating System

Linux

Version Information

Version: 3.14.27
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: 047548b00c1a079373d74d00183f32510a4a41e0
Date: 2026-08-04T03:29:11.183Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.291
OS: Linux x64 7.0.0-28-generic

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

7

Hi @alex-vukov Thank you for the post. You’re not missing a manual install step, and this isn’t something wrong with your Ubuntu setup. For apt/deb installs, Cursor updates through the package manager. The in-app prompt can’t apply those updates. Clicking Download Update just opens the downloads page, which is why that path isn’t useful here.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade cursor is a good update path, and Ubuntu App Center is updating that same apt package when it appears. App Center just refreshes on its own schedule, so it showing up only occasionally is expected.

The confusing part is the prompt coming back after an apt upgrade. Your current version, 3.14.27, matches the latest cursor package in the apt repo, so you’re up to date there. The in-app checker uses a separate feed, and it can still say an update is available even when apt has nothing newer to install.

If that prompt is distracting, you can keep updating with apt and dismiss it, or set Update: Mode to none in VSCodeSettings (not Cursor Settings) (search update mode). That stops the notifications, including ones you might want later. Restart Cursor after changing the setting.

This is a class of issues that we’re tracking and working to improve.