IdeaTwister for Cursor Agent

Use IdeaTwister with Cursor Agent, the headless AI CLI from Cursor (the binary is cursor-agent, distinct from the Cursor IDE). Extract the zip file and run install.sh for the full feature set.

Prerequisites

• cursor-agent installed and on your PATH. If you don't have it, run curl https://cursor.com/install -fsS | bash.
• A provider API key set for IdeaTwister (Gemini, Anthropic, or OpenAI) - see Provider Setup. You bring your own key and pay the provider directly.
• Python 3.10 or newer on your PATH - the installer checks this for you.
• IdeaTwister zip file (received after purchase)
• 5 to 50 minutes for a run, depending on the depth mode you pick

Installation

Step 1 - Extract the zip file

Unzip the IdeaTwister file you received. You'll see a folder structure with install.sh and platform-specific files.

Step 2 - Run the install script (recommended)

cd /path/to/ideatwister-zip
./install.sh

The installer auto-detects Cursor Agent and writes two files:

• ~/.cursor/skills/ideatwister/ - the skill bundle
• ~/.cursor/commands/ideatwister.md - the slash-command shim that forwards $ARGUMENTS to the skill

Then restart any running cursor-agent session.

Step 3 - Or install manually

mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills ~/.cursor/commands
cp -r /path/to/ideatwister-engine/skills/ideatwister ~/.cursor/skills/ideatwister
cp /path/to/ideatwister-engine/skills/ideatwister/commands/ideatwister.md ~/.cursor/commands/ideatwister.md

Then restart cursor-agent.

Verify the installation

cursor-agent
> /ideatwister help

You should see the command list. If /ideatwister is not recognized, confirm both files are in place:

ls ~/.cursor/skills/ideatwister/SKILL.md
ls ~/.cursor/commands/ideatwister.md

If either is missing, re-run ./install.sh.

First-run example

You: /ideatwister "I want to build a tool that helps freelancers track billable hours"

Pick a Depth Mode:
  [1] Quick · [2] Standard · [3] Recommended (default) · [4] Deep · [5] Custom

You: <Enter>

[Cursor Agent runs through the ten phases of the pipeline...]

✅ Pipeline complete!
Depth Mode: Recommended
Variations: 47
High conviction (8+): 5
Score range: 4.4 – 8.7
Time elapsed: 26 minutes

📊 Dashboard: ~/.ideatwister/runs/freelancer-billable-hours-2026-04-24/dashboard.html

Commands

Full details: commands.md.

Limitations

• Browser open: headless terminal sessions can't always launch a browser. The dashboard path is printed - open it manually if it doesn't pop.
• Web search: handled by IdeaTwister's direct call to your chosen provider (Gemini, Anthropic, or OpenAI), not by cursor-agent itself.
• Long runs: Deep mode can take ~50 minutes. If your cursor-agent session has a timeout that's tighter than that, pick Recommended (~25 min) or Standard (~15 min) instead.

Troubleshooting

Command not recognized

Restart any running cursor-agent session, then confirm the skill and slash-command shim are both in place:

ls ~/.cursor/skills/ideatwister/SKILL.md
ls ~/.cursor/commands/ideatwister.md

If either is missing, re-run ./install.sh from the release folder.

Run times out during long operations

Pick a lighter depth mode (Quick or Standard) at the depth mode prompt - they finish in 5–15 minutes and exercise the full pipeline.

Dashboard path not opening

Copy the printed path and open it manually in your browser:

open ~/.ideatwister/runs/{slug}/dashboard.html

Updating

Download the latest version from your account, extract it, and re-run ./install.sh. Your data in ~/.ideatwister/ is preserved.

Uninstalling

rm -rf ~/.cursor/skills/ideatwister
rm -f ~/.cursor/commands/ideatwister.md

Your data in ~/.ideatwister/ is preserved. To delete it as well (including the auto-managed venv):

rm -rf ~/.ideatwister/