Short version: Cursor is not a verified zer0pii path today. This page exists so that nobody assumes otherwise.
What Cursor's documentation says
Read on 2026-09-22 at cursor.com/docs/settings/api-keys and cursor.com/help/models-and-usage/api-keys:
- You can add your own API key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure OpenAI and AWS Bedrock under Cursor Settings > Models: paste the key, click Save.
- "Custom API keys only work with chat models. Tab completion continues using Cursor's built-in models."
- The key is "sent to our backend with every request" and "not persisted after the request completes".
- "Cursor's Zero Data Retention policy does not apply when you use your own API keys."
Neither page documents a base URL override for OpenAI or Anthropic. Earlier versions of Cursor's settings exposed an "Override OpenAI Base URL" field; it is not present in the current documentation, and this guide will not describe a setting by a name the vendor no longer documents. If your Cursor build shows such a field under Cursor Settings > Models, treat it as undocumented and test it with verify.md before relying on it.
Why "not verified" rather than "works with a caveat"
Two independent reasons:
- No documented base URL setting. zer0pii's whole dev-tool path rests on the tool sending its requests to a URL you choose. Without that setting there is nothing to point at the gateway.
- Even with a key, the request does not originate from your machine. Cursor's documentation states the custom key is sent to Cursor's backend, which calls the provider. A base URL override, where one exists, would therefore be called from Cursor's servers, not from the developer's IDE. That is a materially different trust picture from the Claude Code and Continue paths, where the tool on the developer's machine talks to the gateway directly, and it needs its own assessment before we call it covered.
What you can do today
- Use zer0pii's browser extension for the Cursor web surfaces you use (chat on the web), where the extension's coverage applies.
- Use Continue inside VS Code, which is a verified path (see continue.md), if your team can choose the assistant.
- If Cursor exposes an undocumented base URL field and you want to trial it: set it to
https://api.zer0pii.com/v1, put your zer0pii key in the OpenAI key field, have your admin configure the OpenAI key on the gateway (UPSTREAM_API_KEY, see.env.example), and then run the check in verify.md. Report the result to your zer0pii contact either way; a confirmed configuration will be promoted into this guide.
Status
Cursor coverage is tracked as an open item under the local-daemon design spike (docs/plans/next-phase-execution.md, Phase 5, Q19b), which exists precisely for tools that do not expose a base URL. This page will be rewritten when either Cursor documents a base URL override or that spike ships a supported alternative.