Cursor can create a web application and deploy it to a live URL without users having to configure hosting themselves. The new feature, announced on November 5, adds databases, authentication, and security checks to the workflow of its cloud agents. It is available on paid plans that include those agents.
The offering addresses a common obstacle in projects built with coding assistants: moving from an application that works on its creator’s computer to one that other people can open. Cursor sums up the problem this way:
Most of the apps and tools users create never leave localhost.
— Cursor
The change brings Cursor closer to products such as Lovable and Replit, which also let users generate and publish applications from natural-language instructions. The difference Cursor emphasizes is that it incorporates deployment into its programming environment and remote agents, with managed infrastructure and controls designed for teams.
From prompt to a shareable URL
Users must start a cloud agent and explicitly say they want to create an application. Cursor generates the web structure and prepares the project; if needed, it provisions a Postgres database and configures authentication and hosting. Before publishing, users can preview the result and choose a custom URL. The application is only published when the user explicitly takes that step.
The feature does not work with agents that run locally. To start from scratch, Cursor creates a repository in Cursor Origin, its Git-based code hosting service. Users can also ask it to deploy a project from an existing GitHub repository without moving it to Origin. Support for other Git providers, including GitLab, is coming soon, according to Cursor.
Cursor had already allowed users to preview cloud-agent projects and publish them to a URL, but that earlier option required connecting a personal Vercel account. The new version removes that requirement. The New Stack reports that Vercel confirmed on X that the infrastructure is powered by Vercel for Platforms; Cursor does not identify its hosting provider in the announcement.
Each application is deployed in a separate hosting account that Cursor creates for the team or individual user, isolated from other customers’ accounts. If the project needs to store data, Cursor provisions a PostgreSQL database. To connect to external resources—for example, a data warehouse—the user provides the necessary secrets; Cursor’s documentation says the agent cannot see their values.
Internal tools and public access
Cursor presents the launch as a way for different departments in an organization to create tools for their work and share them. Examples it lists include operations systems for registering event attendees, assigning accounts, or distributing seats; interactive customer presentations; training and onboarding materials; sales dashboards with opportunity data; and portals for managing engineering services.
Private applications and those shared with a team are protected by Cursor sign-in. Publishers can grant access to specific people, groups, or the entire team. Individual plans allow users to share an application publicly with anyone who has the link. On Team and Enterprise plans, public sharing is disabled by default; an administrator can enable it in the Apps dashboard.
The documentation adds that users can generate API keys so scripts, continuous integration jobs, or Grok Bot can access applications. Personal keys open the applications their owner can access; team keys open only the team applications authorized for that key. They are sent using the HTTP header x-cursor-app-token; they are not supported as a URL parameter or cookie. Requests are identified as automated and associated with the key, not with a person.
Administrators can view the team’s applications and secrets, enable or disable Apps, and decide whether API keys or public applications are allowed. They can also remove an application. If the team disables public publishing, applications that were already public become visible to the team again, according to the documentation.
Four blockers and an AI review
Four mandatory checks run before every publication, even if the AI security review is disabled. Cursor blocks publication if it finds secrets written in the application files or files containing credentials, such as private keys and service account keys; it excludes .env files and removes source maps.
In addition, an automated AI review examines the files in an attempt to stop serious issues before the application becomes available. If the checks fail, Cursor shows what needs to be fixed, and the agent can try to resolve it before another publication. Administrators can add their own instructions to the review, but cannot remove the built-in controls. They can also approve certain publications blocked by the review, except in cases involving malicious code, hardcoded secrets, or exposed credentials.
These controls do not eliminate all concerns about applications connected to sensitive systems. The New Stack points out that it is unclear how reliably automated checks detect more complex issues, such as misconfigured database permissions or faulty access controls within an application. The publication recalls that Semafor reported in May of the previous year that two Replit employees reviewed 1,645 applications created with Lovable and found 170 that exposed sensitive information because of incorrectly configured database permissions. Lovable said it later added additional checks before applications are published.
The race to create and publish with AI
Cursor is entering a space where Lovable and Replit already offer creation and publishing through natural-language instructions. The New Stack describes those services as options aimed at a broad audience of aspiring app creators, while Cursor’s announcement emphasizes internal tools for businesses. The feature can also be used for personal projects: the publication mentions examples such as a local soccer league scoreboard or an interactive family vacation planner.
The move also overlaps with Grok Build. SpaceXAI introduced that mode in July and expanded it to all Grok plans the following month, according to The New Stack. Grok Build lets users create apps, games, and websites within a conversation and publish them at grok.me links. Cursor approaches this from its programming environment and cloud agents, emphasizing business applications and managed infrastructure.
The similarities between the two features prompted questions on X about whether Cursor would replace Grok Build. The New Stack says there are no signs that the product will be replaced; it notes, however, that the two now cover similar use cases. For Cursor, the deployment feature is enabled on all paid plans with cloud agents. GitLab repositories are not yet supported, although Cursor says that support is coming soon.
Sources: The New Stack, Cursor, Cursor Documentation
