Cursor · tool · fg-0512

Cursor CLI agent -p finishes but leaves the files unchanged

The final answer describes edits, but git diff is empty

Verified 2026-10-15 · Confirmed by 0 builders · Trust 50/100

Cause

In print mode the CLI only proposes changes unless --force (or --yolo) is passed, so non-interactive runs do not write files by default.

Fix

Add --force for runs that should write, and scope what runs unprompted with permissions allow and deny lists in cli-config.json or .cursor/cli.json.

Apply

agent -p --force "Add JSDoc comments to src/utils.ts"

Affects: Cursor CLI (agent), as of 2026-10

Sources

• https://cursor.com/docs/cli/headless
• https://cursor.com/docs/cli/reference/permissions

claude mcp add --transport http footgun https://getfootgun.com/api/mcp