Cursor capitalizes on GitHub frustration, launches rival hosting platform
AI company Cursor this week unveiled Origin, a new code-hosting platform for collaborative development, launching on the same day GitHub suffered a lengthy worldwide outage.
AI development company Cursor, now officially part of SpaceX, this week launched a new platform called Origin, designed to handle the collaborative coding tasks developers typically rely on GitHub for. Origin allows users to work together on code repositories, browse and edit them, and manage pull requests for merging changes into a main codebase.
Until now, Cursor has been primarily known for its AI-powered code editor, which offers automated web development services, making the new platform a logical extension of its business. The company says "agent native" features are coming to Origin soon, though few details have been shared so far. Cursor is also building out a broader app ecosystem to support development work within the platform.
Working alongside GitHub, not replacing it
Notably, using Origin doesn't require developers to abandon GitHub entirely. The platform is built to let users work with both tools simultaneously and move code between them. According to Cursor's blog, users can connect their GitHub account, select an organization, and sync repositories, which Cursor then imports.
Timing coincides with GitHub's troubles
Origin's launch came amid growing frustration with GitHub's reliability. On the very day Cursor announced its new platform, GitHub experienced a lengthy global outage, with degraded service and close to a 20% error rate worldwide lasting more than six hours. This was not an isolated incident — earlier this year, following a string of outages, GitHub pledged new measures to address user complaints. A recent analysis by LeadDev found that GitHub suffered 257 outages over the past year, contributing to what the publication described as a visible departure of high-profile users from the platform.
Still, competing with GitHub will be no small task. By the company's own count, roughly 180 million developers used GitHub as of last October. Founded in 2007 and acquired by Microsoft in 2012, GitHub remains the largest source-code hosting platform in the world.
