Install Buildkite in Cursor

What you need first

• Cursor, installed.
• Docker, which gives the docker command the server starts with.
• Your own value for YOUR_BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN.

Steps

1. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or create it. For one project only, use .cursor/mcp.json in that project.
2. Add this block. If the file already has mcpServers, add only the entry inside it.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "buildkite-mcp-server": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN", "ghcr.io/buildkite/buildkite-mcp-server:0.7.0"],
      "env": { "BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN": "YOUR_BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

3. Replace YOUR_BUILDKITE_API_TOKEN with your own value.
4. Save the file. In Cursor's settings, find the server in the MCP section and turn it on if it is off.

Check it worked

Ask Cursor: List the tools of buildkite-mcp-server.

If it does not start

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon

Docker is not running. Start it, then restart Cursor.

The server starts, but its tools fail

A YOUR_… placeholder is still in the config, or its value is wrong.

Nothing changes after a restart

The file is not valid JSON any more. Look for a missing comma where the block was added.