Cursor

Cursor Getting Too Expensive?

Terse auto-appears when you focus Cursor, compresses your prompts in real time, and shows you the savings before you send. 40–70% fewer tokens per message.

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40–70%prompt token reduction
Autoappears on Cursor focus
3compression modes
0data leaves device

How Terse Works with Cursor

Terse reads from Cursor's Chat and Composer panels via macOS Accessibility APIs, compresses on-device, and shows the result before you hit send.

Cursor — Composer
Terse Active
📄 auth.ts
📄 middleware.ts
📄 routes.ts
📄 types.ts
Composer
I can help you refactor the auth middleware. What changes do you need?
Could you please possibly help me refactor this authentication middleware so that it would hopefully use asynchronous handlers? I think it would be really good if you could also make sure that it maintains backwards compatibility with existing API consumers. Refactor auth middleware to use async handlers. Maintain backwards compatibility with existing API consumers. Terse: 67 → 22 tokens · saved 67% · Normal mode
Terse compressed your message — removed filler & hedging, preserved intent
−67%
Type a message…
👁️

Focus-Triggered Popup

When you click into Cursor's Chat or Composer, Terse auto-appears at the top of your screen — without stealing focus or interrupting your flow.

Auto-detect
✂️

Filler & Hedging Removal

Phrases like "Could you possibly help me…", "I was hoping you could…", and "It would be great if…" add tokens without adding meaning. Terse removes them automatically.

Normal Mode
🔒

Code Block Protection

Variable names, file paths, and backtick code blocks are always excluded from compression. Only natural language prose is touched — never your code.

Always Safe
🔄

Auto Mode

Enable Auto in the Terse popup to automatically replace every Cursor prompt with its optimized version before you send. Zero extra clicks.

One-Click
💰

Live Token Counter

See the before and after token count for every prompt in real time. Know exactly how much you're saving on each Cursor request.

Real-time
🔧

3 Compression Modes

Soft (typo fix only), Normal (filler removal), and Aggressive (maximum compression). Switch modes per-prompt depending on how much context precision you need.

Flexible

Why Cursor Costs So Much

Cursor's cost isn't just your prompts — it's everything Cursor adds automatically before your words even reach the model.

Token breakdown — Cursor Agent message
Cursor system prompt~2,000 tokens
Codebase index & context~8,000–15,000 tokens
Conversation history~2,000–5,000 tokens
Your prompt (verbose)~200–800 tokens
Your prompt is the only part you control. Terse cuts it by 40–70%.
What Terse does
→Removes filler phrases ("could you please", "I was hoping", "it would be great if")
→Fixes typos that cause misinterpretation and re-prompting
→Removes hedging language that doesn't change the instruction
→Compresses redundant phrasing while preserving full meaning
Result: 40–70% fewer tokens on every prompt you type

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything about using Terse with Cursor.

How does Terse work with Cursor?
Terse reads from Cursor's Chat and Composer via macOS Accessibility APIs. A floating bar auto-appears when you focus Cursor, showing live token counts and the compressed version of your prompt. One click to replace, or enable Auto mode for hands-free compression.
Why is Cursor so expensive?
Cursor sends a large context window per request — codebase index, conversation history, and system prompts all count toward your bill. Your typed prompts are the only part you can control. Terse compresses them by 40–70% per message.
Does Terse work with Cursor Composer and Chat?
Yes. Both the Chat panel and Composer textarea are supported. The Terse floating bar shows live token counts and savings as you type in either interface.
Will Terse break my Cursor prompts?
No. In Soft and Normal modes, meaning is fully preserved — only filler, hedging, and typos are removed. Code blocks, variable names, and technical terms are always protected. You can preview the compressed version before applying.
Does Terse affect Cursor's codebase context?
No. Terse only compresses the text you type. Cursor's codebase index, file context, and system prompts are not touched by Terse.
Is there a free trial?
Yes — both Pro ($4.99/mo) and Premium ($99/mo) include a 30-day free trial. No credit card charge until your trial ends. Cancel anytime.

Also Works With

Terse supports every major AI coding tool and browser-based AI assistant.

⚡Claude Code — CLI Agent→ 💬ChatGPT — Browser→ 🤖Aider, OpenClaw, Copilot CLI→ 🌐Claude.ai, Gemini — Browser→

Make Every Cursor Prompt Leaner

30-day free trial. No credit card required until your trial ends. Cancel anytime.

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