CursorAI/Tutorial/Add a project-specific MCP Server

• Tutorial - adding a project-specific MCP Server to Cursor

  • What You'll Create

    • A project-specific MCP server configuration that enhances Cursor's AI capabilities
    • A working example using a weather MCP server that can provide weather information

  • Prerequisites

    • CursorAI installed on your system
    • Basic familiarity with JSON
    • Node.js and npm with npx installed (for npm-based MCP servers)

  • Learning Goals

    • Understand what an MCP server is and how it extends Cursor's capabilities
    • Learn how to configure a project-specific MCP server
    • Successfully set up and test an MCP server

  • Steps

    • 1. Create the MCP Configuration File

      • In your project root, create a .cursor directory if it doesn't exist
      • Inside .cursor, create an mcp.json file
      • This file will define your project-specific MCP servers

    • 2. Configure Your MCP Server

      • Open mcp.json in your editor
      • Add the basic structure for MCP server configuration:
        • json

          {
              "mcpServers": {
                  "your-server-name": {
                      "command": "your-command",
                      "args": [
                          "your",
                          "arguments"
                      ]
                  }
              }
          }

      • For example, to add a weather MCP server:
        • json

          {
              "mcpServers": {
                  "weather": {
                      "command": "npx",
                      "args": [
                          "-y",
                          "@h1deya/mcp-server-weather"
                      ]
                  }
              }
          }

    • 3. Enable the MCP Server

      • Open Cursor Settings
      • Navigate to the MCP section

        • What You'll Create

      • Find your newly added MCP server in the list
      • Enable it using the toggle switch
      • Click the refresh button to initialize the server
        • Note: You may need to click refresh multiple times until the status indicator turns green

    • 4. Test Your MCP Server

      • Open Cursor's Agent Mode
      • Ask a question that would require your MCP server
        • For the weather example: "What's the weather like in Tokyo?"
      • When prompted, approve the MCP tool use
      • Verify that you receive appropriate responses

  • What You've Learned

    • How to create and configure project-specific MCP servers

      The structure of MCP configuration files
      

    • How to enable and test MCP servers in Cursor

  • Related

    • CursorAI/Docs/Context/Model Context Protocol
    • CursorAI/Settings/MCP
    • CursorAI/Agent