MCP Server Installer for Cursor IDE

Overview

The MCP Server Installer for Cursor IDE is a small Model Context Protocol (MCP) helper that automates adding and configuring MCP server instances inside Cursor. It simplifies installing servers published as npm packages, from local directories, or directly from Git repositories and then registering them in Cursor’s MCP configuration so immediate use with language models (like Claude) is possible.

This tool is intended for developers who run or test MCP-compatible servers and want a consistent way to add them to Cursor without hand-editing JSON or dealing with path quirks. It discovers OpenAPI schemas where available, normalizes installation paths, and provides helper actions to add server definitions to your ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

Repository: https://github.com/matthewdcage/cursor-mcp-installer

Features

• Install MCP servers from:
  • npm packages
  • local directories on disk
  • Git repositories (GitHub, Git URLs)
• Detect and prefer OpenAPI/Schema files when available
• Add configured MCP server entries to Cursor’s mcp.json
• Commands exposed as MCP tools for programmatic use inside Cursor
• Works via global npm install, npx, or from a local clone

Installation / Configuration

Prerequisites:

• Node.js (for installing/running npm packages)
• Cursor IDE (https://cursor.sh)

Cursor expects MCP servers to be defined in a JSON file at:

• macOS/Linux: ~/.cursor/mcp.json
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json

Choose one installation method:

Using npx (no global install)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP Installer": {
      "command": "npx",
      "type": "stdio",
      "args": [
        "[email protected]",
        "index.mjs"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Global npm install

npm install -g [email protected]

Then add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP Installer": {
      "command": "cursor-mcp-installer-free",
      "type": "stdio",
      "args": ["index.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

Run from a local clone

git clone https://github.com/matthewdcage/cursor-mcp-installer.git
cd cursor-mcp-installer
npm install
npm run build

Add to Cursor using the local node entrypoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP Installer (local)": {
      "command": "node",
      "type": "stdio",
      "args": ["/path/to/cursor-mcp-installer/lib/index.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

After updating mcp.json restart Cursor to pick up changes.

Quick comparison

Available Tools / Resources

The installer exposes the following MCP actions (available inside Cursor when the installer is configured):

• install_repo_mcp_server
  • Install from npm package or Git repository; resolves package entry points and OpenAPI schemas.
• install_local_mcp_server
  • Install a server from a local directory; handles path normalization and schema discovery.
• add_to_cursor_config
  • Add or update an MCP server entry inside ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

Resources:

• GitHub: https://github.com/matthewdcage/cursor-mcp-installer
• npx / npm package: cursor-mcp-installer-free

Use Cases

1. Install an npm-hosted MCP server

   • Example: use the installer to fetch @example/mcp-server and register it with Cursor so your model can query it for tool calls.

2. Add a local development server

   • Use install_local_mcp_server to point to ~/dev/my-mcp-server; the installer will detect OpenAPI files and write a Cursor MCP entry pointing to the local start script.

3. Install from a Git repository

   • Provide a Git URL (e.g., https://github.com/org/repo.git#branch) to install a specific branch or tag; useful for testing feature branches.

4. Rapidly try OpenAPI-backed tools

   • When you have an OpenAPI schema (e.g., my-schema.yaml), ask the installer to create an MCP server configured for schema-driven exploration inside Cursor.

Example prompt to a model in Cursor:

Install the web search MCP server from npm

or

Install the MCP server for OpenAPI schema located at ~/projects/schema/my-schema.yaml

Tips & Troubleshooting

• If Cursor does not show the installer in the sidebar, ensure ~/.cursor/mcp.json is valid JSON and Cursor was restarted.
• For local paths, prefer absolute paths to avoid resolution issues.
• If an installation fails to detect OpenAPI, verify that schema files are named .yaml, .yml, or .json and placed at the repository root or in standard locations.
• Check logs/output from the installer process (Console/Terminal where Cursor was launched) for errors about permissions or missing Node.js runtime.

This installer aims to speed up bringing MCP servers into Cursor for development, testing, and iterative discovery workflows.