Does a Cursor cloud agent keep working on a pull request after it opens one?

Yes. Cursor cloud agents now subscribe automatically to the pull requests they create and drive them toward completion, which includes fixing failing CI and responding to bot comments on the PR. That is the default behaviour for agent-created PRs, so nobody has to re-prompt the agent each time a check goes red.

Where do Cursor subagents run now?

Cursor subagents can run on their own isolated virtual machines, each with a separate copy of the project, a clean context and its own git branch. Cursor's docs describe launching them with /in-cloud, and note that cloud subagents pull MCP server settings from the team configuration rather than the local session.

Can I message a Cursor agent without interrupting it?

Cursor's steering changes let a message land while the agent is mid-task instead of stopping it. Follow-up instructions now wait for the next tool call and are picked up there, so guidance arrives without cutting an action short. Previously a message during work could break the agent out of what it was doing.

How is /goal different from a normal Cursor prompt?

A normal prompt is one request; /goal hands Cursor a long-lived objective that the agent keeps working toward across many loops. Cursor's example is 'fix all flaky tests and make CI green' — a target with no fixed endpoint that the agent revisits until it is met, rather than a single edit-and-return task.

What is a Custom Mode in Cursor?

Custom Modes let a user pin any skill in the Cursor chat so the agent stays on that kind of work, in the style of an always-on skill. It is a way to keep a long session focused on one job — review, migration, test repair — instead of relying on the agent to reselect the right skill each turn.

Cursor · 2026-08-19 · major

Cursor Subscriptions — cloud agents watch a PR and drive it to done

Cursor added subscriptions, so a cloud agent can watch a pull request, a Slack thread or a schedule and keep working unprompted. Subagents now get their own cloud machines, and a new /goal command holds one long-running objective.

Cursor changelog card for the cloud agents and harness update

Cursor's cloud agents can now subscribe to a PR, a Slack thread or a schedule and keep going on their own.

Quick facts

Maker	Cursor
Released	August 19, 2026
What's new	Subscriptions, custom modes, cloud subagents, /goal, steering
Subscription triggers	Pull requests, Slack threads, scheduled tasks
Where subagents run	Isolated cloud VMs with their own branch
New commands	/goal, /in-cloud, /babysit

What is it?

Subscriptions are the headline of Cursor's August 19 update: an agent watches something — a pull request, a Slack thread, a scheduled slot — and acts each time it changes. Cloud agents subscribe to their own pull requests by default, then fix CI and answer bot comments until the PR is done. The same release adds Custom Modes, cloud subagents, a /goal command and steering changes.

How does it work?

The pieces fit together as a system rather than five separate features. Subscriptions supply the trigger, /goal supplies a target that outlives a single turn, and subagents get isolated cloud VMs with their own project copy and clean context so parallel work does not collide. Steering is the human input path: a message now waits for the agent's next tool call instead of interrupting the current action.

Why does it matter?

The gap this closes is the wait between an agent opening a PR and someone noticing CI failed. Cursor frames the goal as always-on agents that 'operate as a system, building and shipping software on their own without the need for intervention at each loop' — which shifts the reviewer's job from prompting to setting objectives and checking output.

Who is it for?

teams running Cursor cloud agents on shared repos

Frequently asked questions

Does a Cursor cloud agent keep working on a pull request after it opens one?: Yes. Cursor cloud agents now subscribe automatically to the pull requests they create and drive them toward completion, which includes fixing failing CI and responding to bot comments on the PR. That is the default behaviour for agent-created PRs, so nobody has to re-prompt the agent each time a check goes red.
Where do Cursor subagents run now?: Cursor subagents can run on their own isolated virtual machines, each with a separate copy of the project, a clean context and its own git branch. Cursor's docs describe launching them with /in-cloud, and note that cloud subagents pull MCP server settings from the team configuration rather than the local session.
Can I message a Cursor agent without interrupting it?: Cursor's steering changes let a message land while the agent is mid-task instead of stopping it. Follow-up instructions now wait for the next tool call and are picked up there, so guidance arrives without cutting an action short. Previously a message during work could break the agent out of what it was doing.
How is /goal different from a normal Cursor prompt?: A normal prompt is one request; /goal hands Cursor a long-lived objective that the agent keeps working toward across many loops. Cursor's example is 'fix all flaky tests and make CI green' — a target with no fixed endpoint that the agent revisits until it is met, rather than a single edit-and-return task.
What is a Custom Mode in Cursor?: Custom Modes let a user pin any skill in the Cursor chat so the agent stays on that kind of work, in the style of an always-on skill. It is a way to keep a long session focused on one job — review, migration, test repair — instead of relying on the agent to reselect the right skill each turn.

Try it

Type /goal in Cursor chat, or /in-cloud to hand a task to a cloud subagent