Can you use your ChatGPT subscription in Cursor? The October 2026 answer

No: as of 9 October 2026 you cannot use a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription for Cursor's own Chat, Agent, Tab or Cloud Agents. What you can do is install OpenAI's Codex extension inside Cursor and sign it in with ChatGPT, which runs Codex on your plan in a side panel next to Cursor's own tools.

That is the short answer. Below is where it comes from, what each route covers, and the apps that do accept a ChatGPT plan if you want one agent that does.

Why doesn't Cursor's own agent take a ChatGPT subscription?

Because Cursor only accepts API keys, and a ChatGPT plan is not an API key. A Cursor staff member answered the Sign in with ChatGPT feature request on 30 September 2026, the day after OpenAI opened plan usage to other apps:

"Right now there isn't a way to do that. BYOK in Cursor only works with API keys, and a ChatGPT subscription doesn't include OpenAI API usage, so you can't 'transfer' your subscription allowance into Cursor's native agent."

Cursor's API key docs say the same from the other side. You can paste an OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Azure or Bedrock key, the provider bills you per token, and "custom API keys only work with chat models. Tab completion continues using Cursor's built-in models."

OpenAI's side matches. Its Sign in with ChatGPT partner page, read on 9 October 2026, lists twelve apps with plan usage and four open-source integrations. Cursor is not one of them.

Demand is real. The staff reply pointed to an older request, Integrate PRO Subscription Recognition (ChatGPT Plus / Claude Pro), open since November 2025, and Google autocomplete suggests "use chatgpt subscription in cursor" and "use chatgpt plus in cursor" as live searches.

How do you run Codex inside Cursor on your ChatGPT plan?

This is the route both companies point to. OpenAI's Codex IDE extension page lists Cursor next to VS Code and Windsurf, and OpenAI's help article Using OpenAI models in Cursor says to "select Sign in with ChatGPT to use an eligible ChatGPT subscription".

1. In Cursor, install the Codex extension. OpenAI's page links it as cursor:extension/openai.chatgpt; Cursor installs extensions from the Open VSX registry.
2. Open Codex from the Activity Bar. If you don't see it, run Codex: Open Codex Sidebar from the Command Palette.
3. Choose Sign in with ChatGPT and log in to the account with your Plus or Pro plan.
4. Pick a model and start a chat with your open files as context.

Know what you are getting. The Cursor staff reply is precise about it: the extension "doesn't change the model used by Cursor Chat, Agent, Tab, or Cloud Agents. It's a separate tool in the editor, not part of Cursor's agent system." You end up with two agents in one window: Cursor's, billed to your Cursor plan, and Codex, billed to your ChatGPT plan. Codex usage counts toward the same limits as Codex in the terminal or the ChatGPT app.

What else works inside Cursor on a ChatGPT plan?

Kilo Code is the other option that stays in the editor. Kilo's install page lists Cursor alongside VS Code and JetBrains, and Kilo is on OpenAI's partner list. Its ChatGPT subscription docs describe the setup: sign in to Kilo, open the BYOK page, choose Sign in with ChatGPT under OpenAI (ChatGPT subscription), then pick a model marked BYOK in the Kilo extension. Kilo says requests on your plan use "your ChatGPT allowance rather than Kilo credits", and when you hit the plan limit the request stops instead of switching to paid usage.

Like Codex, Kilo is its own agent panel. Neither one turns Cursor's Tab completion or Cursor Agent into a ChatGPT-plan feature.

Route inside Cursor	Uses your ChatGPT plan?	What it covers
Cursor Chat, Agent, Tab, Cloud Agents	No	Billed to your Cursor plan, or per token with your own API key (chat only)
Your OpenAI API key in Cursor settings	No	Pay-per-token OpenAI billing, chat models only
OpenAI Codex extension	Yes, Sign in with ChatGPT	Codex in a side panel
Kilo Code extension	Yes, via Kilo's ChatGPT BYOK	Kilo's agent in a side panel
Claude Code extension or claude in the terminal	Uses a Claude plan, not ChatGPT	Claude Code inside Cursor

What changes for OpenAI models in Cursor on 12 November?

This is a separate story from your subscription, but it lands on the same people. On 28 August 2026, OpenAI said in a blog post that it had notified SpaceX, which now owns Cursor, that it intends to wind down its contract providing OpenAI models to Cursor, "with a proposed shutoff date of November 12, 2026". InfoWorld and CNBC covered the decision.

What that means for the routes above, as far as the sources say:

• GPT models in Cursor's own picker come through Cursor's contract and are the ones on the proposed shutoff. A user summary on Cursor's forum notes that the date "is not yet final" and that Cursor had not published a transition plan. We found no newer Cursor statement as of 9 October.
• The Codex extension is OpenAI's own product, signed in to your own ChatGPT account. OpenAI's help article for Cursor users points to it, describing the extension as a way to "use Codex directly inside Cursor with a ChatGPT subscription or an OpenAI API key".

Which apps take your ChatGPT plan directly?

If you want one coding agent that runs on your ChatGPT plan end to end, these are on OpenAI's list and on BringYourSubs:

• Zed: an editor with Sign in with OpenAI for ChatGPT, and Claude Code for Claude.
• Warp: terminal and agent, sign in with your ChatGPT account.
• Amp: coding agent in the CLI and editor, no monthly plan required.
• Devin: sign in with ChatGPT, then turn on Use your ChatGPT plan.
• Conductor: runs Codex, Claude Code and other agents in parallel on a Mac.
• OpenCode: open-source terminal agent; see OpenCode on your ChatGPT plan.
• T3 Code: one window for Codex, Claude Code and the Cursor CLI, so it also covers a Cursor plan.

The full list is on works with ChatGPT. If you also pay for Cursor, works with Cursor lists apps that run on that plan.

What about GitHub projects that put a ChatGPT login into Cursor?

You will find open-source projects that proxy a subscription login into Cursor's API-key slot. Neither Cursor nor OpenAI documents that route, Cursor's staff reply says there is no supported way to do it, and it is not one of the apps OpenAI approved for plan usage. We don't list or recommend these proxies. The routes above are the documented ones.

Can you use a Claude subscription in Cursor instead?

Yes, through Claude Code. Anthropic's help page says Pro and Max cover Claude Code in Cursor and other VS Code forks, through the Claude Code extension or claude in Cursor's terminal. Our guide Can I use my Claude subscription in other apps? has the app-by-app detail, and works with Claude lists every app on that plan.

One date to note if you use Codex in Cursor: GPT-5.5 leaves Codex on 14 October 2026. See what changes for apps on your plan.