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New CLI Features and Improved CLI Performance

Cursor

Cursor released a major CLI update introducing model selection commands, rules management, MCP server controls, and custom command creation directly from the terminal. The release delivered significant performance improvements with 10-20x faster hook execution through parallelization, alongside usability enhancements including automatic tab naming, improved keyboard shortcuts, and refined interaction patterns.

Model Management

Cursor introduced comprehensive model management capabilities directly in the CLI. Developers gained three ways to interact with available models: the agent models command for listing and selecting models, the --list-models flag for quick reference, and the /models slash command for in-conversation switching.

Rules and Commands

Rules Management

The /rules command arrived in the CLI, enabling developers to create new rules and edit existing ones without leaving the terminal. Rules provide persistent instructions that modify agent behavior across conversations, making them ideal for encoding project-specific conventions, team standards, or personal preferences.

Custom Commands

The /commands command provides similar functionality for custom commands. These commands allow developers to define reusable workflows, complex operations, or specialized tasks that agents can execute on demand.

MCP Server Management

Cursor expanded MCP server support with /mcp enable and /mcp disable commands. These controls allow developers to selectively activate MCP servers based on current needs.

CLI Improvements

Primary Entrypoint

The primary CLI entrypoint changed to agent, providing a clearer and more intuitive command name. Cursor maintained the cursor-agent command as a backward-compatible alias.

Automatic Tab Naming

Tabs now automatically name themselves based on chat content, making it easier to navigate between multiple concurrent chat sessions.

Performance Improvements

Hook Parallelization

The most significant performance improvement came from hook parallelization. Previously, hooks executed sequentially, causing cumulative delays when projects used multiple hook scripts. The new implementation executes hooks in parallel and merges their responses, delivering a 10x reduction in hook execution latency.

Usability Enhancements

Keyboard Shortcuts

Cursor refined several keyboard shortcuts based on user feedback. Ctrl+D now requires a double-press to exit, matching standard shell behavior. Shift+Enter inserts newlines rather than submitting prompts, enabling multi-line input.

Bug Fixes

The release addressed seven bugs affecting stability and user experience, including eliminating ghost line rendering artifacts, resolving a race condition affecting conversation state, fixing Cannot find module errors related to node-pty dependencies, correcting chat name generation logic, and resolving multiple issues affecting follow-up messages.