Anysphere, maker of the AI-native code editor Cursor, released version 3.8 on June 18, 2026, adding a new "/automate" skill that lets users configure cloud-agent Automations using plain-language instructions alone.
June 18, 2026 · Cursor 3.8
Now You Can Build an Automation Just by Describing It
Cursor's new /automate skill lets developers configure always-on cloud agents in plain language — triggers, instructions, and tools assembled straight from a conversation inside the editor. The "automation of automation."
/automate
A slash command that sets up an automation for you — no plumbing required
8
Trigger sources: cron, GitHub/GitLab, Slack, Linear, Sentry, PagerDuty, Webhook
5×
"The speed of a team five times the size" — reported in production
Output of one team vs. a "5× team"
Reported effect of running always-on cloud agents in production
How an automation gets built — now inside the editor
1 · DESCRIBE
Type /automate in a local agent session, describe the task in plain language
→
2 · CONFIGURE
Cursor auto-sets triggers, instructions and tools — no manual setup page
→
3 · RUN ALWAYS-ON
Cloud agent fires on schedules or events to handle the rest of the dev cycle
Where it helps
Security reviews & weekly change summaries
Adding test coverage, bug triage
Incident response, Jira tickets from Slack
Shared across teams via marketplace templates
Open questions
Large-scale production examples still accumulating
Computer-use depends on environment setup
Token spending with no budget cap in complex loops
Unexpected behavior during autonomous workflows
The distinction
Unlike standalone autonomous agents, Cursor seamlessly connects the existing local IDE experience with always-on cloud agents — and the key question now is whether plain-language setup pulls more developers into automating their everyday work.
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