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Forkbench vs Cursor
Cursor is an AI-first code editor (a VS Code fork) with bundled model access and cloud/background agents, billed per seat with inference included.
Updated
Cursor replaces your editor and bundles the inference. Forkbench replaces neither: it runs the CLI agents you already pay for in real login shells, and scopes each job to a Thread carrying its folder, notes, keys and board, so a key reaches the command and never the agent. Plenty of people run both.
Cursor and Forkbench get mentioned together but sit in different categories. Cursor is an AI editor you switch to, a VS Code fork with a model and agents built in, billed with inference included. Forkbench doesn't replace your editor or your agents: it's a native-macOS control room for the CLI agents you already run (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Aider), adding the coordination and secrets layer around them. Plenty of people use both.
| Forkbench | Cursor | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mac app for running CLI agents | AI code editor (VS Code fork) |
| Your editor | Keep it (nvim / tmux / any) | Replaced by Cursor |
| Agent model | Bring your own CLI agent | Cursor's own agent + models |
| Inference billing | BYO, no bundled inference | Bundled (per-seat + usage) |
| Secrets handling | Vault (Pro), sealed on your Mac | No secrets handling |
| Local-first | Yes, code + keys stay on your Mac | Cloud features + background agents |
| Price | Free; Pro €30/mo; Team $30/seat, dropping to $20 at scale (BYO agent) | Free / $20 / $40-seat (inference bundled) |
Where Cursor is strong
- A full AI IDE, inline edits, tab-completion, and chat in one polished app.
- Inference is bundled: one subscription covers the model usage.
- Large funding and momentum, plus cloud/background agents.
Where Forkbench differs
- Agents run commands with your API keys and never hold the value. Vault is part of Pro.
- Folders the macOS kernel enforces. A Thread can be locked to the folders the job is about, applied as each shell starts and inherited by every process it spawns, so an agent cannot read or write outside them. Builds still run and the network is untouched.
- Keep your editor and your shell setup: Forkbench runs the agents, not your IDE. Neovim, tmux, your shells and your keybindings all work unchanged.
- Bring your own agent: run any CLI agent on the subscriptions you already pay for, no second inference bill, no lock-in to one model.
- A shared task board, end-to-end encrypted Notebooks, multi-Mac coordination, and phone/web remote, coordination Cursor doesn't ship for external CLI agents.
The bottom line
If you want one polished AI editor with the model included and you're happy to work inside it, Cursor is excellent, and you can still run it alongside Forkbench. If you'd rather keep your terminal, your editor, and the CLI agents you already pay for, and add a shared board plus a vault that keeps your keys out of the agents, that is Forkbench.
Cursor questions
Is Forkbench an alternative to Cursor?
Only if what you wanted from Cursor was the agents rather than the editor. Cursor is an AI-first editor with the model included; Forkbench leaves your editor where it is and runs CLI agents beside it. If you want inline edits and tab-completion, nothing here replaces them.
Do I end up paying for AI twice?
Not through Forkbench. It adds no inference of its own, so the Claude Code or Codex subscription you already have does the work. Cursor bundles its own model usage per seat, which is a second AI bill if you already pay for a CLI agent.
Can Cursor's agent use a key it never sees?
It reads the environment your machine gives it, like any process. In Forkbench a secret lives in Vault, granted to one Thread, and reaches the command rather than the agent's context. Vault is part of Pro.
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Comparison based on publicly available information, checked on the date above. Spot something out of date? Tell us.