How to add an MCP server to Cursor

What Cursor can run

• Local servers (stdio)
• Remote servers (HTTP)
• Remote servers (SSE)

504 of the 508 servers in the catalog run natively in Cursor.

Step by step

1. Create `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project (or `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for every project).
2. Add each server under `mcpServers`: `command`/`args` for local servers, `url` for remote ones.
3. Open Cursor Settings → MCP and toggle the server on.

Reloading: Cursor detects changes to mcp.json; toggle the server off and on in Settings → MCP if it doesn't.

Example: the Filesystem server in Cursor

The official reference server for file access. Replace the directory with the folder you want the assistant to see.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

`npx` is not found, or the server exits immediately on Windows

Windows launches `npx` through cmd. Use `"command": "cmd"` with `"args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "<package>"]`, and make sure Node.js 18+ is on the PATH of the user the client runs as.

`SyntaxError` or `Unsupported engine` when the server starts

Most MCP servers need Node.js 18 or newer (`node -v`). If you use nvm, the client may not see your shell's Node: point `command` at the absolute path of `npx`.

The server shows a red dot in Settings → MCP

Click it to see the error output. Most often the package name is wrong or a required argument (such as an allowed directory) is missing.

The server starts but every tool call fails with 401 or 403

Its API key is missing or wrong. Put it in the server's `env` block (or the header for remote servers) — never in a file you commit.

Official documentation: Cursor MCP docs