Using Persona

Getting started

Install Persona from Open VSX, then run the setup wizard when prompted (or later from Advanced).

1. Install Persona from Open VSX (or Extensions in Cursor).
2. Click Set Up Persona when prompted, or run Persona: Set Up. Later, use Re-run setup wizard from Advanced (then Start setup).
3. Step 1: register this window with an id (stored in .cursor/persona.json) and a display name.
4. Step 2: optionally Add Work persona (recommended), Add custom persona, or Skip for now.
5. Step 3: optionally Add folder rule for Work.
6. Step 4: Keep theme status bar for all personas, or Customize status bar per persona.
7. Step 5: optionally Yes — set persona for this project.
8. Optionally Install launchers (Cursor - Work apps and Persona Helper for cursor:// links).
9. On Persona Pro, the wizard may ask about Agents Window costs.

After setup, use the status bar persona item to open the main menu.

How-to guides

Switching Cursor accounts, running work and personal side by side, agency setups, and how Persona compares to other approaches.

• Switch Cursor accounts without signing out
• Work and personal Cursor at the same time
• Cursor Profiles vs separate accounts
• Manual --user-data-dir setup
• Agency setup: one account per client
• Persona vs Dock launchers and Userdata Switcher

Status bar

Persona adds two status bar items:

• Persona account: shows the current persona icon and label. Click to open the Persona menu. Before setup it may read Set up Persona.
• Window cost: $(credit-card) shows an estimate dollar amount for the open project. Click for This window's cost.

Status bar

Persona menu

Open it from the status bar persona item (command title Persona).

• Switch persona: pick another persona. Current window stays on the active one; others open a new window (and their project when mapped).
• Open folder: pick a project folder; Persona routes it to the right account.
• This window's cost: estimated Cursor spend for the open project.
• Assign projects: map a folder of repos, then assign personas.
• Cursor Insights: Pro features menu (dashboard, trial, license, Agents Window).
• Advanced: manage personas, defaults, data, launchers, maintenance.

If the open project expects a different persona and auto-switch is off, you may also see Fix wrong persona for this project (Open this workspace in the persona it expects).

Persona — Personal

This window's cost

Available on free and Pro. Open from the status bar cost item or the Persona menu. Title is Cost — {project}.

• Periods: Today, This week, This month, Last month.
• The configured status bar period is marked with a check.
• Each row shows an estimate and a detail line such as tokens plus on-demand / in-plan split, or allowance split not synced / No usage.
• Footer: Open Insights Dashboard when Pro is unlocked, otherwise Cursor Insights.

Cost — example-project

Assign projects

Opens a panel titled Assign projects. Scan a folder of repos, filter, then assign personas in bulk.

• Scan folder… chooses a parent folder of projects.
• Filter by persona, source (Repo file, Folder rule, Git remote, Unassigned), visibility, and search.
• Select rows, choose a persona, then Apply to selected.
• Also: Assign git owners…, Migrate repo files…, Hide / Unhide selected.

Sources tell you where the mapping came from. Hidden projects stay out of day-to-day lists until you unhide them.

Persona Pro Pro

Cursor Insights in the main menu opens the Insights Dashboard submenu. Free users see trial and upgrade actions. Pro unlocks the dashboard and Agents Window cost sync.

Insights Dashboard

Insights Dashboard

When unlocked, the panel title is Persona Usage. Choose a period and persona, filter All usage / In plan / On-demand, Re-sync, and Export CSV. Expand Est. for per-model breakdown.

Est. is on-demand cost. On-demand and In plan show the allowance split.

Persona

Usage

This month All personas

$2.14

This month · 1 Sep – 5 Sep

Total tokens1.03M

Included772k

On-demand258k

Est. is on-demand cost. On-demand and In plan show the allowance split.

All usage In plan On-demand

Re-sync Export CSV

Project	Tokens	Est.	On-demand	In plan
acme-corp/platform-api Acme Corp	1.03M	$2.14	25%	75%
northwind/checkout Northwind	412k	$0.88	12%	88%

Insights Dashboard

From the Pro menu when unlocked:

Insights Dashboard

Agents Window costs Pro

Cloud Agents do not store token counts locally. With Pro, Persona fills them in from each persona's Cursor sign-in by default. No API key. Turn sync off anytime if you prefer.

• On by default: Agents Window costs: on — Using each persona's Cursor sign-in — click to refresh or turn off.
• Off: Include Agents Window costs in the Insights Dashboard menu to turn it back on.
• Configure menu: Keep on, Refresh token counts now, Turn off.
• Also controlled by setting persona.usage.syncAgentsWindow (default true).

Agents Window costs

Setup (Pro only) may ask: Include Cloud Agents in cost estimates? Cursor doesn’t store those token counts locally.

Trial and license

• Start free Pro trial: unlocks Persona Pro for 30 days on this machine.
• Upgrade to Pro: opens the Persona Pro checkout page.
• Enter Pro license: unlocks every persona window on this machine.
• Remove Pro license: removes the license stored on this machine.

While a trial is active, the Insights Dashboard item can show how many days remain.

Advanced

Title: Persona — Advanced.

Persona — Advanced

Manage personas

Open from Advanced → Manage personas. Title: Manage Personas.

• Assign projects appears at the top (same panel as from the main menu).
• Each persona row shows its icon and label, id as the description, and email or userdata path as the detail.
• Add persona creates a new managed persona.
• Link existing userdata (under Advanced → Personas) registers an existing Cursor profile folder.

Manage Personas

Pick a persona to open its edit menu (Edit — {label}):

Edit persona

Defaults

• Set default persona: used when skip-picker is enabled.
• Auto-switch on wrong persona: launch the correct persona and close this window when mismatched. Matches setting persona.autoReopenOnMismatch.

Data

Under Advanced → Data. These tools move or inspect the Cursor userdata folders behind each persona. Close other Cursor windows before copying.

• Copy settings from another persona: choose a target persona, then pick what to copy (settings and keybindings recommended, settings from another persona, full copy without account, or start empty). Does not copy the Cursor sign-in when you use the recommended mode.
• Reveal current userdata: opens this window’s userdata folder in Finder, Explorer, or your file manager.
• Migrate to short path: moves a persona’s userdata to ~/.cursor/persona/u/<hash>/ for a shorter path (useful when long paths cause issues).

Launchers

• Install or repair launchers: Cursor - Work apps and cursor:// sign-in helper.
• Remove launchers: Remove Dock / Start Menu apps and Persona Helper.

Maintenance

Catch-all actions under Advanced when you need to fix branding or walk through setup again without managing personas.

• Re-apply status bar branding — rewrites each persona’s settings.json from the registry: status bar colors (unless that persona uses the theme bar) and the [Persona] … window title. Use after a Cursor or theme update wiped colors, or when an accent change has not shown up yet.
• Re-run setup wizard — opens the same first-run flow again (register this window, optional work/custom persona, branding, launchers, and Agents Window when Pro). Does not wipe existing personas. Useful if you skipped setup, want another persona path, or never finished setup on this machine.

Settings

Cursor Settings search for Persona, or edit these keys: