How to Install Jupyter Pre-Release Versions in Cursor IDE

Cursor has quietly become a favorite AI-powered code editor among data scientists and developers who want intelligent autocomplete alongside a familiar VS Code-style interface. If you're working with Jupyter notebooks inside Cursor and want access to bleeding-edge features before they hit stable release, installing a pre-release version of the Jupyter extension is a straightforward but nuanced process worth understanding fully.

What "Pre-Release" Means in This Context

When people search for installing a Jupyter pre-release in Cursor, they're typically referring to one of two things:

• The Jupyter extension for VS Code/Cursor (published by Microsoft) in its pre-release channel
• JupyterLab or Jupyter Server pre-release Python packages installed into the underlying environment

These are meaningfully different. The extension pre-release controls the notebook UI, kernel management, and editor integration inside Cursor itself. The Python package pre-release affects the Jupyter server, kernel behavior, and backend features. Many users conflate them — knowing which one you actually need shapes the entire installation approach.

Installing the Jupyter Extension Pre-Release Inside Cursor

Cursor is built on the VS Code open-source base, which means it supports the Open VSX Registry and, in many builds, the standard VS Code Marketplace. The Jupyter extension by Microsoft is available through both channels.

To install the pre-release extension version:

1. Open Cursor and navigate to the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac)
2. Search for "Jupyter" — look for the extension published by Microsoft
3. Click the extension to open its detail page
4. Look for a "Switch to Pre-Release Version" button — this appears beneath the Install button when a pre-release build is available
5. Click it to install the pre-release channel build

If the pre-release toggle isn't visible, it likely means Cursor's current marketplace integration doesn't surface that option directly. In that case, you can manually install a VSIX file:

• Visit the Visual Studio Marketplace page for Jupyter in a browser
• Scroll to Version History and download a .vsix file from a pre-release build (pre-release versions typically carry version numbers like 2024.x.x-dev or similar pre-release identifiers)
• In Cursor, open the Extensions panel, click the "..." menu (top-right of the panel), and select "Install from VSIX..."
• Navigate to your downloaded file and install

Installing Jupyter Pre-Release Python Packages 🔬

If your goal is testing a pre-release of JupyterLab, jupyter_server, or notebook at the Python package level, this happens entirely through your terminal — not through Cursor's extension system.