Cursor Launches New Code Hosting Platform, Origin, Amid GitHub Outages
Cursor, recently integrated into SpaceXAI, has launched Origin, a new code hosting platform that aims to meet the collaborative coding needs traditionally served by GitHub. This launch comes at a time when GitHub has faced significant outages and performance issues, prompting concerns among developers about the reliability of its services.
Origin is designed to enable developers to collaboratively work on codebases, browse and edit them, handle pull requests, and store them in repositories. This move appears to be a logical progression for Cursor, which has primarily focused on providing automated web development services through its AI Code Editor. Cursor has indicated plans to introduce “agent native” features for Origin in the near future but has withheld specific details. The company also aims to create a broader app ecosystem to enhance coding activities within Origin.
Notably, Origin does not require users to abandon GitHub; it is configured for interoperability, allowing developers to work on both platforms simultaneously. In Cursor’s blog, the company states, “Your GitHub repos can sit alongside the ones Cursor hosts. Connect GitHub to Cursor, pick your org, and you’ll see the repos you can sync. Select one and Cursor pulls it in.”
The unveiling of Origin coincided with a significant outage at GitHub, which experienced degraded functionality for over six hours on the same day. This latest incident contributed to a nearly 20 percent error rate globally. GitHub has struggled with these outages throughout the year, with a recent analysis by LeadDev revealing that the platform experienced 257 outages in the past year, sparking discontent among its user base and reportedly leading to “a visible exodus of high-profile users,” according to LeadDev’s Charles Humble.
Despite the challenges facing GitHub, it remains a dominant force in the industry, with about 180 million developers using the platform as of October 2022. Founded in 2007 and acquired by Microsoft in 2012, GitHub continues to be the world’s largest source code host, presenting a formidable challenge for Cursor as it seeks to carve its niche in the competitive realm of code hosting.
