Install Cursor on Mac
Download and Install Cursor
Getting Cursor on Your Mac
Before you can start building with AI, you need to get Cursor on your computer. Cursor is an integrated development environment, or IDE, built specifically for AI-powered programming. Let's walk through the download and installation process for macOS.
Cursor is an AI-first code editor that fundamentally changes how developers write code.
Download the Installer
First, open your web browser and navigate to the official Cursor website at cursor.sh. The homepage will immediately present you with download options. The site should automatically detect that you're using a Mac.
Look for a button that says something like "Download for Mac". If you see options for Intel or Apple Silicon, choose the one that matches your Mac's processor. If you're unsure, you can find this information by clicking the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and selecting "About This Mac".
Click the download button. Your browser will begin downloading the installation file, which will likely be a .dmg file. Wait for the download to complete before moving to the next step.
Install and Launch
Once the download is finished, locate the .dmg file in your Downloads folder and double-click it. A new window will open on your desktop.
Inside this window, you will see the Cursor application icon and a shortcut to your Applications folder. To install the app, simply click and drag the Cursor icon onto the Applications folder icon. Your Mac will copy the application to the correct directory.
After the copy process is complete, you can open your Applications folder and find Cursor. Double-click the icon to launch it for the first time. Because you downloaded it from the internet, macOS might ask for your confirmation to open it. Click "Open" to proceed.
That's it. Cursor is now installed and ready to go. The application will guide you through some initial setup questions, and then you'll be ready to start coding.