AI Assistant Uses PowerShell Instead of zsh on macOS

[dna-AI]

title: AI Assistant Uses PowerShell Instead of zsh on macOS
labels: bug, shell-configuration, macos

Environment:

• OS: macOS (darwin 24.2.0)
• Shell: /bin/zsh
• Project Path: /Users/davewetherill/Documents/Projects/glitch

Description:
AI Assistant's terminal command execution defaults to PowerShell on macOS,
ignoring the configured zsh shell and causing command execution issues.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Open Cursor on macOS with zsh as default shell
2. Use AI Assistant to execute any terminal command
3. Observe PowerShell prompt and formatting in output

Expected:

• Use system's configured shell (/bin/zsh)
• Show zsh formatting
• Maintain shell environment between commands

Actual:
Commands show PowerShell prompt:
PS /Users/davewetherill/Documents/Projects/glitch>

Even when explicitly using zsh:
PS > /bin/zsh -c 'command'

Impact:

• PowerShell syntax conflicts with Unix commands
• Directory operations may fail
• Environment variables handled incorrectly
• Breaks macOS development workflow

System Info:
PSReadLine: 2.3.5
PowerShell: 7.4.6
OS: Darwin 24.2.0

[brooksc]

Any update or workarounds on this? I'm hitting this too on mac.

[kareemalkoul]

Same issue for Linux