How to add an MCP server to Cursor

Cursor reads its MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json and connects to them over stdio (a local process), Streamable HTTP and HTTP+SSE. 123,088 of the 123,088 servers we can write a config for work in it.

A local server

A local server runs on your machine, started by Cursor from its package. It needs Node.js installed first. For example, Azure MCP Server goes in ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "azure": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@azure/[email protected]", "server", "start"]
    }
  }
}

Every step for this server in Cursor

A remote server

A remote server runs on its publisher's machines, and Cursor connects to its address. Nothing needs installing. For example, Context7 goes in ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "context7": {
      "url": "https://mcp.context7.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Every step for this server in Cursor

Which servers work in Cursor

Cursor can send a key in a header, so the 3,253 servers that need one work in it.

Runs	Servers	In Cursor?
Local (stdio)	85,196	Works
Remote, Streamable HTTP	30,928	Works
Remote, Streamable HTTP, key in a header	3,206	Works
Remote, HTTP+SSE	3,711	Works
Remote, HTTP+SSE, key in a header	47	Works

If the server does not show up

Matches the official docs The configs follow Cursor's MCP docs, read on 2026-10-31.

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