# Cursor agent waiting for approval? How to answer it from anywhere

> The Cursor agent pauses to run commands. Herdbell shows the request anywhere on your Mac so you can allow or deny it in one key.

Canonical: https://herdbell.com/blog/cursor-agent-approval-notifications
Last updated: 2026-10-27

The Cursor agent can run shell commands and MCP tools, and it waits for you when it needs a yes. Cursor has its own alerts, but they only help while you are in Cursor's world. Herdbell shows the same request wherever you are on your Mac.

## What you can do for Cursor in Herdbell

- **Allow or deny shell commands and MCP tools** as a card at your cursor.
- **Harmless read-only commands** (like `git status`) are allowed without asking, so you are only asked about the ones that matter.
- **Reply when it finishes:** your reply goes back as the agent's follow-up message.
- **Questions:** when Cursor asks you something in its window, Herdbell shows it and you answer in Cursor.

## What stays in Cursor

- Cursor cannot be stopped from outside, so there is no Stop button for it. End removes the chat from Herdbell only.
- Other prompts, such as accepting a file edit, are not visible to Herdbell.
- Herdbell can only reply right after a turn ends. It cannot start a message in a chat that has already ended, so for that open Cursor.

## Set it up

1. Connect Cursor in onboarding or on the Agents page. Herdbell adds its hooks to `~/.cursor/hooks.json` after backing the file up.
2. Start a chat in Cursor. The first command it wants to run appears as a card.
3. Press **Return** to allow or **D** to deny.

## Common questions

### Does Herdbell work with the Cursor desktop app?
Yes. It connects through Cursor's hooks, so it sees chats in the app and shows their commands and replies.

### Does Herdbell approve Cursor file edits?
No. Herdbell handles shell commands and MCP tools. Accepting a file edit stays in Cursor.

## Related
- [Herdbell: pricing](https://herdbell.com/#pricing)
- [All posts](https://herdbell.com/blog)
- [Claude Code vs Codex vs Cursor: how to monitor all of them in one place](https://herdbell.com/blog/claude-code-vs-codex-vs-cursor)
- [How to approve Claude Code permissions without switching windows](https://herdbell.com/blog/approve-claude-code-permissions)