Bot computer updates on Oct 17, 21 and 22 dropped installed apps

If a tool you installed on your Bot's computer disappeared this week, the computer was most likely replaced by an update. Cursor staff member Colin said at 8:08 AM ET today that updates on Oct 17 and Oct 21 reached every computer, and Oct 22 brought another replacement. Each fresh computer keeps your files, Bots and logins, not the apps you installed. His advice for now: a setup script your Bot reruns.

• Who: anyone who installs apps or command-line tools on their Bot's computer.
• Symptom: apt packages, tools in /usr/local/bin and compiled programs gone after an update; files, Bots and logins still there.
• Status: staff call it "a known gap the team is tracking." No fix date.

What changed#

What survives a rebuild isn't new. Our Oct 13 story covered the same split after a one-time server move, and the settings docs describe it. What's new is how often it now happens, and that staff are tracking it as a gap.

"When a new version of the Bot’s computer ships (often for browser security fixes), computers on older versions are replaced with a fresh one the next time they’re used," Colin wrote. "Oct 17 and Oct 21 were updates like that, rolled out to every computer, and Oct 22 was a similar replacement." What carries over, per the same reply: "A replacement restores your bots, saved files and logins, but apps and packages installed outside the saved folders (apt packages, tools in /usr/local/bin, compiled binaries) are not carried over." He adds that "This is how computer updates, Recover and Reset work today."

There was also a bug on top. On Oct 21 and Oct 22, Colin says, a timing problem during the swap "removed your old computer before the new one was ready." Bots "were left without a computer for a while and then landed on a fresh one that was still copying your files back." The poster described about 20 minutes of broken git repos and missing Bot folders. Colin: "That’s also tracked" (post).

Why it matters#

A routine that depends on an installed tool (a mail bridge, gh, a compiled script) can start failing the morning after an update with an error that looks unrelated, like a missing command. Three replacements in six days means a one-time reinstall isn't enough.

What to do now#

These are Colin's steps, from his reply:

1. "Keep a setup script in /workspace that reinstalls what you need (Proton Mail Bridge, gh, glab and so on), and have a bot run it after a rebuild."
2. "Where you can, put single-file tools and your compiled binaries under a folder you’ve seen survive rebuilds, rather than /usr/local/bin."

A prompt you can try (ours, untested):

List every app and command-line tool you've installed on your computer outside my saved folders. Write a script at /workspace/setup.sh that reinstalls them, then tell me which ones will still need me to sign in. After any computer update, run /workspace/setup.sh before your other work.

Good to know#

• Some sign-ins still need you. Colin wrote: "You’ll still need to sign in to Proton Bridge again with 2FA after a rebuild for now."
• A fresh computer can change the browser's time zone. Colin says it "takes its time zone from the location its traffic exits from."
• Frequent restarts aren't always rebuilds. "When nothing is using the computer it’s paused, and it resumes when a bot needs it," Colin said. We covered pauses on Oct 11.
• The poster counts five full rebuilds since Oct 12. That's one user's count; staff confirmed Oct 17, 21 and 22.

What to watch#

A changelog line saying installed software now survives updates, or a warning before a computer is replaced.