Cursor vs ellul
Cursor's runtime, or yours.
Cursor's editor is unmatched, and as of 2026 they also ship a CLI and a Cloud Agent product. Ellul integrates Cursor's Agent SDK for chat and runs cursor-agent (alongside Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode) on a workstation you own. The comparison is less about whether Cursor's agent can run elsewhere and more about which runtime envelope it runs inside.
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The fundamental difference
Cursor sells the editor, the agent, and (increasingly) the runtime as one bundled stack. Ellul is the runtime under whichever agent you choose, including Cursor's. Ellul integrates Cursor's Agent SDK for the chat experience and pre-installs cursor-agent on every workstation, so you keep Cursor's editor and CLI but the agent process lives on infrastructure you control, with a passkey gate, parallel-agent peering, and model-agnostic BYOK across Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode in the same workstation.
Where Cursor is strong
Cursor's editing experience is unmatched in 2026. Inline completions, command-K, codebase indexing, and the agent panel are all the strongest in their category. The cursor-agent CLI brings the same loop to your terminal, and Cloud Agents (Cursor's hosted runtime) can keep running while you close your laptop. Stay entirely inside Cursor's ecosystem if it fits.
Where ellul is stronger
Anything that involves the agent working without you, on infrastructure you own. Overnight runs. Parallel agents from different vendors. Real-credential operations like git push and database migrations gated by your passkey, not Cursor's auth. Long refactors that take eight hours. Picking up a task on your phone in the subway. Cursor's Cloud Agents put work on Cursor's runtime; Ellul puts work on yours.
Feature comparison
| Capability | Cursor | ellul | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the agent runsCursor's Cloud Agents run on Cursor-managed infrastructure; Ellul runs on a per-user VPS dedicated to you. | Local (editor + CLI) or Cursor's hosted runtime (Cloud Agents) | Per-user VPS you own and control | |
| Survives lid close | Yes via Cloud Agents; no for local editor / CLI sessions | Yes (workstation persists) | |
| Parallel agents from multiple vendors | Cursor agents only | Yes (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode in one workstation; read-only peering between) | |
| Editor experience | The strongest native editor experience in the category | Browser file browser + terminal; pair with Cursor locally as the editor | |
| Inline completions | Yes (instant, native to the editor) | Through Cursor on your laptop, paired with Ellul as the runtime | |
| Privileged action gating | Editor permission prompts (in-process, skippable) | FIDO2 passkey, server-side enforced outside the agent process | |
| Where credentials live | Local machine (~/.aws, ~/.ssh, 1Password CLI) or Cursor-managed for Cloud Agents | Server-side vault, brokered to the agent per-call | |
| Cursor Agent SDK integration | Native to Cursor's products by definition | Yes (Ellul's chat surface speaks Cursor's ACP, so cursor-agent runs as a first-class adapter alongside other CLIs) | |
| Phone access for approvals | Limited (Cloud Agents have a web UI, no passkey gates) | Yes (chat, files, passkey approvals from any registered device) |
Pricing
| Tier | Cursor | ellul |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Pro $20/mo | $20/mo Hobby |
| Mid | Pro+ $60/mo | $50/mo Pro |
| Heavy | Ultra $200/mo | Pro covers parallel workstations + peering |
| Teams | Business $40/seat/mo | Per-seat (contact) |
| Bring your own model key | Auto/router; some BYOK options | Yes (BYOK on every supported agent) |
Verdict
Cursor for the editor and the agent, Ellul for the runtime that owns the agent.
Most senior engineers we talk to pay for both. Cursor stays on your laptop as the editor; cursor-agent and any other CLI live on an Ellul workstation. Cursor's Cloud Agents are an option if you want to stay entirely inside their ecosystem; Ellul is the option if you want sovereignty over where the agent runs, multi-vendor agents in parallel, and a passkey gate the runtime enforces.
When to use each
Use Cursor when
- You spend 90%+ of your day in the editor with the agent doing inline assists.
- Your work is short-cycle: prompt, see result, accept, move on.
- You don't need credentials beyond what already lives on your laptop.
- You're happy with Cursor owning the agent's runtime (local or Cloud Agents).
Use ellul when
- You want to kick off a long task on infrastructure you own and walk away.
- You want to run multiple agents in parallel: coding (Claude Code), reviewing (cursor-agent), documenting (OpenCode).
- Your agent needs to touch real infrastructure (GitHub, Vercel, production databases) and you want those credentials gated by your passkey, not Cursor's auth.
- You want passkey approvals for every privileged action, enforced outside the agent process.
- You want to keep your editor (Cursor or anything else) and only swap the runtime.
Common questions
Can I use Cursor with Ellul together?
Yes. Many of our customers do. Cursor stays on your laptop as the editor; cursor-agent runs on Ellul as one of the agent CLIs in the workstation. Ellul's chat surface speaks Cursor's Agent Communication Protocol (ACP), so the integration is first-class. You keep the editor experience and gain a sovereign runtime.
What about Cursor's Cloud Agents?
Cursor shipped Cloud Agents in 2026, where you push a conversation to Cursor's hosted runtime and it keeps running while you're away. The trade-off is whose runtime owns the work. Cloud Agents run on Cursor-managed infrastructure with Cursor-managed credentials. Ellul is the same shape of capability on a per-user VPS you own, with passkey-gated privileged actions and multi-agent peering.
Why would I pay for both?
Different jobs. Cursor is for inline assists at the keyboard and the strongest editor experience in the category. Ellul is for unattended runs on infrastructure you control, parallel agents from multiple vendors, and credential-touching operations gated outside the agent process. Most senior engineers we talk to pay for both.
Does Ellul have inline completions?
No. Inline completions assume the agent is co-located with the editor on your machine. Ellul's agent lives on the server. If you want inline completions plus a sovereign runtime, you run Cursor on your laptop and Ellul on the server, and cursor-agent on Ellul handles the long-running work.
Is Cursor more secure than Ellul?
Different threat models. Cursor's local agent has the same OS-level access to your filesystem as you do: every credential file, every browser cookie, every SSH key. Cloud Agents move that to Cursor-managed infrastructure with Cursor-managed credentials. Ellul's agent runs in an isolated per-user VPS with credentials in a server-side vault, gated by a separate process the agent cannot ptrace into. If you want kernel-enforced isolation and passkey-gated privileged actions, the architectures aren't comparable.
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Try it
Move your agent off your laptop.
Hobby is $20/month. Pro is $50/month. Bring any agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode.
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