Cursor MCP servers: setup and scoping

Cursor MCP adds external tools to Cursor through the Model Context Protocol. You register a local server process or a remote endpoint in mcp.json, then make its tools available to the agent. An AIPx remote endpoint connects Cursor to your permitted service accounts through OAuth.

How to add MCP to Cursor

Use a remote connection for AIPx. Its server runs outside your editor, so you supply a URL rather than a command that launches a package:

1. Connect the required service accounts in AIPx.
2. Create a Cursor agent and review its tool permissions.
3. Copy the personal MCP URL, replacing AGENT_ID in the example below.
4. Add the entry to the project’s .cursor/mcp.json or your global ~/.cursor/mcp.json.
5. Inspect the server in Cursor’s customization interface and complete OAuth in the browser when prompted.
6. Select its tools for the agent and try one specific read.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aipx": {
      "url": "https://dash.aipx.run/mcp/AGENT_ID"
    }
  }
}

The Cursor MCP documentation covers server configuration, remote authentication and tool use. The configuration above describes the hosted AIPx endpoint; a local server entry has a different purpose and includes an executable command.

For a first task, ask Cursor to retrieve a known issue and identify the relevant repository. Do not begin with an open-ended instruction to tidy every connected service. A narrow request makes a wrong account, unexpected tool or incomplete permission easier to spot.

Cursor MCP config: mcp.json

Project configuration belongs in .cursor/mcp.json. Global configuration belongs in ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Both use the top-level mcpServers object, but their scope changes where Cursor offers the server.

File	Scope	Useful example
.cursor/mcp.json	Current project	A connection associated with one application
~/.cursor/mcp.json	Your projects	A personal tool connection used repeatedly

Choose project scope when the repository’s workflow has a clear set of external systems. Choose global scope when you personally use the same service connection across projects and accept that availability. Configuration can be shared without sharing OAuth credentials, but check whether a personal agent endpoint belongs in a public repository.

JSON must remain valid: quoted keys, balanced braces and no trailing commas. A copied Codex TOML section or Claude Code-specific entry is not a substitute for Cursor’s schema. Compare the Codex setup and Claude Code setup if you use several clients, and keep their files separate.

If the endpoint changes, update the declaration rather than adding a second nearly identical entry. Duplicate connections make it harder to understand which permission set supplied a result. Naming the server after its purpose can help, but the actual access boundary is the agent configured in AIPx.

Best MCP servers for Cursor

An editor already knows the working tree. Connect servers that supply outside context or deliberate service operations. These twelve choices cover common development work, but only enable the subset relevant to your repository.

Integration	Why an editor agent might need it	Starting access
GitHub	Retrieve review context and issues	Relevant reads; Confirm shared changes
Linear	Read the feature brief	Confirm issue creation and updates
Sentry	Explain a production error	Read the app’s project
Supabase	Inspect the database behind a feature	Prefer a scoped read-only setup
PostHog	Understand observed user behavior	Restrict analytics access
Cloudflare	Investigate deployed infrastructure	Review administrative capabilities
Jira	Retrieve ticket requirements	Hide unrelated account tools
Confluence	Find architecture notes	Confirm edits to shared documents
Notion	Read product decisions	Limit workspace exposure
Google Sheets	Consult a rollout or test matrix	Confirm sheet updates
Stripe	Research billing behavior	Keep financial writes restricted
Gmail	Read a specified work discussion	Hide personal mail

The best MCP servers list compares remote and local deployment, authentication and pricing. For a coding task, start with the tracker and error system. A long tool list is not a measure of how useful the editor agent will be.

Cursor MCP tools

Cursor lets you manage which server tools are enabled for the agent. Turn off operations irrelevant to the current work. This keeps descriptions and choices focused, and reduces the chance that a broad task reaches a system you did not intend to involve.

Client tool selection and AIPx access rules answer different questions. Disabling a tool in the editor keeps it out of that editor workflow. Hiding it in AIPx enforces the agent’s gateway permission. When you need a stable account boundary across sessions, configure the server-side rule as well as the editor selection.

Suppose Cursor needs to read a bug report and create a draft issue. It can be useful to enable only those relevant tool groups, allow the reads and select Confirm for creation, then verify the client honors that approval hint. Keep deployment, deletion and personal-account tools hidden unless there is a specific reason to expose them. Reading a report may itself disclose confidential data, so “read-only” should not mean “all accounts.”

Give Cursor scoped access

AIPx lets you apply Allow, Confirm or Hide to each tool, connected account and agent. The work account can be accessible while the personal account is hidden. Another client can use those same connected accounts through an agent with different rules.

Review confirmation details before accepting: the account, operation and arguments should match the task. AIPx supplies Confirm as an approval hint; verify how Cursor handles it rather than assuming a gateway execution block. Approval is permission to execute the proposed call, not a guarantee that the model’s plan is correct or that the result can be rolled back.

A shared audit records the agent, account, tool, parameters, result and time. Inspect the first few calls when onboarding a project, and revisit permissions when a new integration adds tools. The MCP gateway guide describes this shared connection layer. Free permits three connected accounts and one agent; Pro costs $3 per month for unlimited accounts and agents plus Pro integrations.

Troubleshooting

The server does not appear. Verify the file path and active workspace. A project declaration applies to its project; a global declaration is personal. Validate JSON before investigating the remote service.

OAuth opens but the connection fails. Check which AIPx account you signed into and whether the endpoint belongs to the intended agent. Reconnect authentication when needed; do not paste a provider API key into the URL.

The server connects but some tools are absent. Review Cursor’s tool toggles and AIPx Hide settings. A connected account does not mean every tool is exposed to every agent. Refresh discovery after changing the permitted set.

A tool returns an upstream permission error. The provider account may have insufficient access or a revoked grant. Inspect the service connection in AIPx. Enabling more client tools cannot repair that provider authorization.

A local command will not start. Inspect the executable and environment used by the editor. This does not apply to the hosted AIPx URL, which has no local server binary to install.

A direct official server is a sensible choice for a single service. Private-file tools belong in a local or privately reachable environment. AIPx adds network and operator trust requirements in exchange for shared account rules across clients.

Connect your tools to Cursor

The editor shortlist is intentionally narrow. These further connections are available when a specific task needs cloud, meeting, payments or personal data; review each account before exposing it to a project.

• Development and infrastructure: Atlassian Rovo tools, DigitalOcean infrastructure.
• Mail, notes and planning: Google Calendar events, Apple Calendar access, Things 3 tasks, Granola meeting notes, Fireflies transcripts, AgentMail inbox tools.
• Payments: Paddle subscription tools.
• Research and campaign data: Exa web search, Google Maps data, X account tools, Yandex Direct campaigns.
• Personal health and nutrition: WHOOP recovery data, Withings measurements, Hevy workouts, Numon nutrition reports.

Connect one service, run a verifiable read, and inspect the audit before enabling a write. Connect free.