contenox

Cursor alternative: what to use instead, and when to stay

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COMPARE vs Cursor

The best Cursor alternative depends on what you would keep. If you want to keep an AI editor with tab completion, GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the closest swap. If you mostly use Cursor’s agent, Claude Code, Codex and Cline run as extensions in plain VS Code, OpenCode runs in the terminal, and Contenox is a separate desktop app for agent work with your own model provider and explicit permission rules. If Cursor’s completions and inline edits are why you open it every day, stay: that is where it is strongest.

Why people look for a Cursor alternative

  • Cost and usage. Paid plans include a weekly pool of usage for Cursor’s own models, Composer and Grok. Claude, GPT and Gemini aren’t part of it: on Premium and up they are billed at API list price from prepaid credit, and Plus doesn’t offer them. When the pool runs out, you top up or wait. See Cursor pricing for current plans.
  • Your own model keys only go so far. Cursor accepts keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure OpenAI and AWS Bedrock, but only for chat models. Tab completion always uses Cursor’s models, and requests with your key still go through Cursor’s servers.
  • They want to stay in VS Code, or use a different editor altogether.
  • They want the agent to ask before editing. Cursor’s run modes control commands and MCP calls. The agent applies file edits in your workspace directly, and checkpoints let you revert them. Deletions and files outside the workspace have their own protections.

Can you fix it without switching?

Some of it:

  • Tighten command approvals. In Settings > Agents > Approvals & Execution, choose Allowlist with an empty allowlist to approve every command yourself. Auto-review, the recommended default, runs other commands in a sandbox where it can.
  • Use your own key for chat. Add an OpenAI, Anthropic or Google key for chat models. On Premium, Super and Ultra your provider bills those requests, not your Cursor credit; on Teams and Enterprise, Cursor adds its own per-token charge. Completions still use Cursor’s models.
  • Keep your project rules portable. Cursor reads AGENTS.md in the project root and subfolders, next to its own .cursor/rules/*.mdc files. Rules in AGENTS.md work in most other agents too, which makes a later switch easier.

The main alternatives

ToolWhat it isModelsPick it if
GitHub CopilotAI assistant for VS Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains and more, plus agents on GitHubModels offered through Copilot, plus your own keys in supported clientsYou want completions and an agent in the editor you already use
Claude CodeAnthropic’s agent: terminal, VS Code and JetBrains extensions, desktop app, webClaude onlyYou mostly use Cursor’s agent, and you use Claude
CodexOpenAI’s agent: open-source CLI (Apache-2.0), IDE extension, ChatGPT desktop appOpenAI models; sign in with ChatGPT or use an API keyYou pay for ChatGPT and want its agent in VS Code or the terminal
OpenCodeOpen-source agent (MIT): terminal, desktop app (beta), IDE extension75+ providers; ChatGPT and Copilot sign-in; local modelsYou want an agent with any model, in the terminal or its own desktop app
ClineOpen-source agent (Apache-2.0) for VS Code and JetBrains, also a CLIMany providers with your own keysYou want an agent in plain VS Code with any model
ContenoxOpen-source desktop app (Apache-2.0) for working with AI agentsChatGPT and Claude (through Claude Code) plans, Copilot as an unofficial sign-in; API keys for many providers; local modelsYou want agent work in its own app, with your provider and rules you set

How Contenox differs from Cursor

Cursor is built around the editor. Contenox is built around the agent session: you open a project, describe the outcome, and watch each tool call in the transcript, with Files, Terminal and Diff panes next to it.

Three things work differently:

  • Your provider, your bill. Requests go from the app to the provider you connect. Sign in with a ChatGPT subscription, paste an API key, or run models locally with Ollama or your own vLLM server. There is no Contenox subscription.
  • Edits can wait for you too. Every action is checked against your rules before it runs, file changes included. Rules apply to All workspaces or to one workspace.
  • Open source. The whole app is Apache-2.0.

A starting rule set in Permissions looks like this:

Read files      Allow
  Never allow these paths: .env, .env.*
Change files    Ask me first
Run commands    Ask me first
  Allow without asking: commands that start with: npm test

The agent reads freely except env files, asks before every edit and command, and runs your tests without a prompt.

What Contenox does not have: tab completion, inline edits, or a code editor built for typing all day. It does not replace your editor; keep one open beside it. It also has no team plans or admin console, and it is a younger, smaller project.

Moving from Cursor to Contenox

  1. Download Contenox from the download section. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
  2. Open Backends → Providers and connect a model: sign in with ChatGPT, paste an API key, or connect Ollama.
  3. Add your project folder with New project.
  4. Open Permissions and decide what the agent may do without asking. Start strict and loosen as you learn what it does.
  5. Contenox does not load .cursor/rules or AGENTS.md on its own. Start your first task with “Read AGENTS.md first”, or put the conventions that matter into the task.
  6. Choose New session and describe the outcome you want.

Who should stay with Cursor

  • You type code most of the day and rely on tab completion and inline edits.
  • You want one editor and one bill, with models chosen for you.
  • Your team is standardizing on Cursor’s Teams or Enterprise plans.

Many people keep Cursor for editing and hand longer tasks to a separate agent. Contenox works on the same folders, so you can do both.

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