Cursor, now part of SpaceXAI, launched Origin this week. It is a new code hosting platform designed to replace the functions developers usually rely on from GitHub: collaborating on codebases, browsing and editing files, handling pull requests, and storing repositories.
GitHub has been the standard for developers for years. Recently, however, the site has faced reported outages and performance drops. Cursor is positioning itself to fill the gap left by these failures.
How it works
Origin is built to support “agent native” features, though Cursor has not shared specific details yet. The company is also building a wider app ecosystem to support coding efforts within the platform.
Users do not need to abandon GitHub to use Origin. The service allows developers to work alongside GitHub and pass code between the two systems. According to Cursor’s blog, GitHub repositories can sit alongside those hosted by Cursor. Users connect their GitHub account, select an organisation, and see the available repos to sync. Selecting one pulls it into Origin.
The timing
The launch coincided with a significant disruption to GitHub. On the same day Cursor released Origin, GitHub suffered a worldwide outage lasting over six hours. During that time, the site’s functions were degraded with an error rate of nearly 20 per cent.
These problems are not new. Earlier this year, GitHub announced new actions to address unhappy coders after a series of outages. A recent analysis by LeadDev found 257 outages over the past year. LeadDev’s Charles Humble wrote that such persistent issues have led to a visible exodus of high-profile users.
The challenge ahead
Cursor faces a steep climb to compete with GitHub. Last October, GitHub reported some 180 million developers using its platform. Founded in 2007 and acquired by Microsoft in 2012, it remains the largest source code host in the world.
What it means
For developers, this move offers a direct alternative to a struggling giant. It provides a way to keep using GitHub while having a reliable backup for collaboration and storage. If GitHub continues to fail, Origin offers a place to store code without losing access to the wider ecosystem.
