How to Setup MCP in Cursor

Popular IDE

Step-by-step setup guide for connecting Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to Cursor by Anysphere.

Configuration File: mcp.json

%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

Example mcp.json Template

Open in Config Generator
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "postgres": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres", "postgresql://user:pass@/db"]
    }
  }
}

Installation Steps

1

Locate mcp.json

Find the configuration file at %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json.

2

Add MCP server entries

Open the file and add your server definitions inside the configuration schema.

3

Set environment variables

Provide any required API keys, database URLs, or access tokens in the environment section.

4

Save and reload

Save mcp.json and hot-reload or restart Cursor.

5

Verify in chat

Ask Cursor to list tools or execute a task with the connected MCP server.

Cursor Protocol Support

Stdio Transport Supported

Local stdio transports via npx, python, uvx

SSE / HTTP Transport Supported

Remote SSE servers with authentication headers

Tool Calling Supported

Composer agent autonomous tool calls

Resources API Supported

Context reference via @ mentions

Prompts API Unsupported

Not yet exposed in chat slash commands

Roots Boundary Supported

Binds to active project workspace root

Dynamic Hot-Reload Supported

Auto-reloads on mcp.json save