# free-pi vs Cursor CLI

Canonical: https://freepi.ai/vs/cursor-cli

Facts checked on 2026-10-28 from official sources.

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.

Try it: `npx free-pi-cli@latest`

## 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 | ✓ Free 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 | ✓ `free-pi-cli mcp add` | ✓ Uses your `mcp.json` |
| Open-source CLI | ✓ MIT | Not stated in the pages we checked |
| Security work on systems you own | ✓ Opt-in Defense models (abliterated) in `/model`, plus a bundled security-audit skill | Not documented in the pages we checked |

## 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](https://freepi.ai/cybersecurity).

## 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).

### 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.

## Sources

- [Cursor CLI overview](https://cursor.com/docs/cli/overview)
- [Using Cursor CLI](https://cursor.com/docs/cli/using)
- [Cursor CLI authentication](https://cursor.com/docs/cli/reference/authentication)
- [Cursor pricing](https://cursor.com/pricing)
- [Security-audit skill and Defense](https://freepi.ai/cybersecurity)
- [free-pi CLI on GitHub](https://github.com/dennisonbertram/free-pi-cli)
- [freepi.ai](https://freepi.ai)

Cursor CLI is a trademark of its owner. free-pi is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cursor CLI.