Github To Origin

GitHub to Origin

You are the agent. The user says "move this repo to Origin" and you do the rest: run the commands, verify every step with another command, and report what you proved, not what you assume. Ask the user only for the inputs below and at the two moments where a human is unavoidable.

The code move is the easy half. The half that breaks things is Vercel: a repo can be on Origin while production still builds from GitHub, so pushes appear to succeed and the live site silently stops updating.

Two traps that look like success

1. Syncing is not moving. Connecting GitHub to Cursor creates a mirror. Pushes keep going to GitHub, which stays the source of truth. A synced repo shows Mirror status: inbound in origin repo view. Mirrors even accept pushes, so a successful push proves nothing about who is authoritative.
2. Installing the Vercel app on the Origin repo is not deploying from it. The existing Vercel project that owns the production domain keeps GitHub as its Git source until someone repoints it. Two separate connections; only one owns the domain.

Inputs to collect before starting

• Origin org and repo name, e.g. acme/site. If the user is unsure, run origin repo list and show them the candidates.
• The production domain, e.g. www.acme.com. You will use it to find the right Vercel project, so do not guess it.
• Whether GitHub should be kept as a backup remote. Default yes.

Human moments, stated upfront

1. origin auth login opens a browser the user must complete.
2. The Cursor-side detach (step 6) is a web UI with a type-to-confirm dialog and has no CLI. Drive the browser yourself if you have browser control; otherwise give the user the exact clicks and wait.

Everything else is yours. Do not hand the user a command you can run yourself.

0. Preflight

origin --version   # Origin CLI installed?
vercel --version   # Vercel CLI installed?
git status --porcelain

Origin needs a paid Cursor plan and is early beta. Uncommitted work in the tree is fine, but never commit it as part of the migration.

1. Snapshot

Capture what correct looks like so the migration can be proved later:

git branch --format='%(refname:short)' | wc -l
git rev-list --count main
git rev-parse main
git rev-list --max-parents=0 HEAD
git tag | wc -l

2. Authenticate

Run origin auth login in the background and let it live until it exits on its own. Never wrap it in a timeout and never kill it: killing invalidates the challenge and no token is stored, even if the user completed the browser step.

Verify, do not assume:

origin auth status   # expect: Token: valid

Login also installs a git credential helper for origin.cursor.com, so no further git auth setup is needed.

3. Find or create the Origin repo

origin repo view <org>/<repo>

• Mirror status: inbound means synced mirror. Continue; step 6 converts it.
• No mirror line means it is already a native Origin repo.
• Missing entirely: origin repo create <org>/<repo>.

4. Push everything

Add Origin under a temporary name so the existing origin remote stays untouched until the push is proved:

git remote add cursor https://origin.cursor.com/<org>/<repo>.git
git fetch cursor
git push --dry-run cursor main   # proves writes are accepted
git push cursor --all
git tag | grep -q . && git push cursor --tags

5. Verify parity, then repoint remotes

git fetch cursor --prune
for b in $(git branch --format='%(refname:short)'); do
  git rev-parse --verify -q "cursor/$b" >/dev/null || echo "MISSING: $b"
done
git rev-parse main cursor/main   # must print the same sha twice

Only when nothing is missing:

git remote rename origin github
git remote rename cursor origin
git branch --set-upstream-to=origin/main main

Keeping GitHub as a named remote is what makes the migration reversible.

6. Detach from GitHub on the Cursor side

Until this is done, GitHub is still the source of truth.

At cursor.com/codebase/<org>/<repo>: Settings > General > Danger Zone > Detach from GitHub, then type <org>/<repo> in the confirm dialog. The dialog states the GitHub repo is not deleted.

Verify from the terminal:

origin repo view <org>/<repo>   # the Mirror status line must be gone

7. Repoint Vercel at Origin

This is the step that decides whether production updates.

Trap: do not let the CLI auto-link. vercel ls and vercel link in an unlinked directory silently link by directory name, which can pick a similarly named project that does not own the domain. Find the real project through the domain instead:

vercel inspect https://<production-domain>
# read the "name" field: that project owns the domain
rm -rf .vercel
vercel link --yes --project <that-name>

Then repoint the Git connection:

vercel git disconnect
vercel git connect https://origin.cursor.com/<org>/<repo>.git

Both subcommands exist (verified on Vercel CLI 46.1.0). The docs only promise "a Git provider repository" and never name Origin, so if connect rejects the URL, fall back to the dashboard: Project Settings > Git > Connected Git Repository > Disconnect, then connect the Origin repo.

Always repoint the existing project. Never let the Origin Vercel app create a fresh project: the existing one holds the production domain, the environment variables, and the deployment history, and a new one starts with none of them.

8. Prove the deploy, headlessly

vercel ls   # note the newest Production deployment URL

Push a real commit to origin, then poll:

vercel ls   # until a NEW Production deployment appears with status Ready
vercel inspect https://<production-domain>
# its "url" must equal the new deployment; "created" must be minutes ago

Do not verify by grepping the served HTML for markup you changed. Props passed from server components to client components do not reliably appear in the HTML, so that check reports failure for deploys that shipped fine. The CLI is the authority on which deployment is live.

Finish with a health sweep:

for p in / <key routes>; do
  curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code} $p\n" "https://<production-domain>$p"
done

9. CI stops. Say so out loud.

GitHub Actions only run on GitHub. After the cutover, every workflow in .github/workflows/ stops firing, and nothing fails because nothing runs. Origin runs existing workflows through Depot or Buildkite, connected from the repo's Apps tab. Until one is connected, the only gate is whatever local git hooks exist on the developer's machine. Tell the user this explicitly and offer to set a replacement up.

10. Aftermath

• GitHub now drifts behind. Make it a decision, not an accident: either push there occasionally as a backup mirror or declare it intentionally stale. Public links and profile READMEs may still point at it.
• Rollback: rename the remotes back and reconnect Vercel to the GitHub repo. Nothing in this runbook deletes anything on GitHub.

Checklist to report to the user

[ ] snapshot taken: branches, commits, head, root
[ ] origin auth status: Token valid
[ ] every branch verified present on Origin
[ ] remotes: origin -> Origin, github -> GitHub backup
[ ] detached: Mirror status line gone
[ ] Vercel project found via the domain, not auto-link
[ ] vercel git disconnect + connect done (or dashboard fallback)
[ ] new deployment proved live via vercel inspect
[ ] key routes return 200
[ ] user told CI is dark, replacement offered