free-pi vs Cursor CLI
Cursor CLI lets you use Cursor's agent from the terminal. You sign in with a Cursor account, and Cursor has a Free plan with limited agent requests. free-pi is a terminal-first alternative: one command and a GitHub sign-in.
Facts checked on from official sources
Why developers pick free-pi
Free, no card, no API key
Sign in with GitHub and start.
Web search and live library docs, built in
free-pi can search the web and pull current docs for the library you are using, with no API keys to set up.
Seconds to first prompt
npx free-pi-cli, click through GitHub, and start coding.
A fresh allowance every day
Your free daily allowance refills every day.
Pick your model
Choose from a catalog with DeepSeek V4 Flash as the default.
Lean, extensible, open
Built on Mario Zechner's pi agent harness, with an MIT-licensed CLI you can read on GitHub.
At a glance
| free-pi | Cursor CLI | |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-in | GitHub | agent login with a Cursor account, or a CURSOR_API_KEY for scripts and CI |
| Free access | YesFree daily allowance that refills every day | Cursor's Free plan lists "limited agent requests"; we did not find whether the CLI is covered |
| Paid options | Optional credit packs | Plus ($8/mo), Premium ($30/mo), Super ($100/mo), Ultra ($200/mo), Teams and Enterprise |
| Install | npx free-pi-cli | curl https://cursor.com/install -fsS | bash (macOS, Linux, WSL) or PowerShell on Windows |
| Modes | Prompt and edit in one agent | Agent, Plan and Ask modes |
| Instruction files | Reads AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md files (per pi's docs) | Reads .cursor/rules, plus AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md at the project root |
| MCP servers | Yesfree-pi-cli mcp add | YesUses your mcp.json |
| Open-source CLI | YesMIT | Not stated in the pages we checked |
| Security work on systems you own | YesOpt-in Defense models (abliterated) in /model, plus a bundled security-audit skill | Not documented in the pages we checked |
- Yes
- No
- Not mentioned
What is the same
Both run an agent in your terminal, both support MCP servers, and both read AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md instruction files.
What is different
Cursor CLI is one surface of the Cursor product. It shares rules and MCP config with the editor, and offers Plan and Ask modes and a hand-off to Cursor's cloud agents. free-pi is only a terminal agent. It has no editor, and it has its own free allowance instead of a plan.
Cybersecurity work
free-pi has an opt-in Defense section in /model. Its models are abliterated, which means open-weight models with their refusal behavior removed, and free-pi also bundles a security-audit skill. Use them for lawful security work: systems you own, employer systems you have permission to test, and in-scope bug bounty targets.
We built it because defenders need to find and fix vulnerabilities, and a refusal on lawful work on your own systems slows them down. Defense is for signed-in users and authorized use only. See free-pi Defense.
Which one should you use?
Pick free-pi if…
- You live in the terminal and have no use for an editor.
- You want to start with only a GitHub sign-in.
- You want the CLI source to read and fork (MIT).
Try it in one command
Pick Cursor CLI if…
- You already use Cursor and want the same rules and MCP setup in the terminal.
- You want a dedicated Plan mode before the agent edits code.
- You want to hand work off to Cursor's cloud agents.
FAQ
Is Cursor CLI free?
Cursor's pricing page lists a Free plan with limited AI usage and limited agent requests. The pages we checked do not say whether Cursor CLI works on that plan, or whether it needs a paid one.
Does Cursor CLI read AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md?
Yes. Cursor's docs say the CLI reads AGENTS.md and CLAUDE.md at the project root, alongside .cursor/rules.
How does free-pi stay free?
Ads in your terminal and session data that helps train better models. That's the deal that keeps it free.