fix(windows): detect cursor bundled node process - #3034
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📝 WalkthroughWalkthroughCursor Agent detection now validates bundled Windows Node invocations against the versioned Cursor path. Tests reject lookalike paths that use an unrelated Node runtime. The changelog uses the broader Windows panes wording. ChangesWindows Cursor Agent detection
Estimated code review effort: 2 (Simple) | ~10 minutes Merge Risk: 🔵 Low · up to The change is mergeable with owner awareness or follow-up, but the Windows-specific matcher should be gated to Windows to prevent Unix builds from incorrectly recognizing matching Windows-style process arguments. Possibly related PRs
🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 4 | ❌ 1❌ Failed checks (1 warning)
✅ Passed checks (4 passed)
✨ Finishing Touches 💡 1📝 Generate docstrings 💡
🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)
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docs/next/CHANGELOG.mdsrc/detect/mod.rs
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Greptile SummaryHerdr now preserves Cursor Agent detection after its Windows launcher hands off to the bundled Node process.
Confidence Score: 4/5The PR is not yet safe to merge because unrelated Node processes can still be misidentified as Cursor. The reply states that the broad matcher was fixed by requiring node.exe and index.js to share a directory, but an arbitrary directory ending in cursor-agent/versions/ containing both files remains a concrete counterexample. Files Needing Attention: src/detect/mod.rs
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| Filename | Overview |
|---|---|
| src/detect/mod.rs | Adds Cursor's bundled-Node detector and tests, but the attempted path-tightening still accepts unrelated same-directory lookalikes. |
| docs/next/CHANGELOG.md | Documents persistent Cursor Agent detection after the Windows launcher handoff. |
Reviews (2): Last reviewed commit: "fix(windows): constrain cursor runtime d..." | Re-trigger Greptile
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| (package.eq_ignore_ascii_case("cursor-agent") | ||
| && versions.eq_ignore_ascii_case("versions") | ||
| && !version.trim().is_empty()) |
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When an unrelated node.exe and index.js share any directory ending in cursor-agent/versions/<nonempty>, this matcher identifies the process as Cursor, causing spurious Cursor-specific agent and status tracking.
Knowledge Base Used: Agent detection, Ghostty integration, and configuration
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disagree: Herdr process identity is signature-based rather than tied to a trusted install root. This requires the exact bundled node.exe/index.js pair in one cursor-agent/versions directory; requiring the default AppData root would break redirected LOCALAPPDATA. A process deliberately recreating the full official bundle signature is no more distinguishable than one naming itself cursor-agent.
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Fair point — the signature is more constrained than my initial comment implied. The conjunction of node.exe + index.js in the same directory, under a path component sequence of exactly cursor-agent/versions/<nonempty>, is specific enough that an accidental collision is extremely unlikely. And you're right that anchoring to AppData\Local would break redirected LOCALAPPDATA environments, which is a real Windows enterprise concern.
The threat model here is also relevant: this is process identification for tracking, not a trust boundary, so the bar for "specific enough" is whether false positives are plausible in normal operation — not whether the path is cryptographically verified.
I'll withdraw the concern. The current implementation is appropriate for Herdr's signature-based identity model.
Should I remember this as a rule: "Herdr process detection is signature-based; do not flag detectors for lacking a trusted install-root anchor, as path anchoring would break redirected LOCALAPPDATA and is outside the threat model"?
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Issue
Starting Cursor Agent as bare
cursor-agentfrom a Windows PowerShell pane briefly labels it, then leaves it unknown. The pane disappears from agent commands and status tracking.Problem
Cursor's short-lived launcher hands off to a bundled Node process. Herdr did not recognize the persistent process's versioned Cursor executable and entrypoint paths.
How did we fix it?
Herdr now recognizes Cursor when its bundled
node.exeandindex.jsshare the same versionedcursor-agentdirectory. Other scripts, alternate entrypoints, and lookalike paths driven by a different Node runtime remain unknown. Cursor status still comes from its existing screen manifest.Verification
The reporter's exact Node command failed identification before the change and resolves to Cursor afterward. Focused negative cases remain unidentified. GitHub's Linux, macOS, Windows, and ConPTY checks pass. Local checks passed 3,487 tests; one live-handoff test cannot discover its replacement process because this harness places
CARGO_TARGET_DIRoutside the checkout, although its logs confirm the process starts.refs #3032