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Set up MCP servers in Cursor

Which configuration file format Cursor reads, what it is called and where it belongs – from the vendor’s own documentation, with source and collection date.

File format
File formatJSON with the root key "mcpServers".
File namemcp.json

Location

Location
all systems.cursor/mcp.json · ~/.cursor/mcp.json

Source: cursor.com/docs/context/mcp, retrieved on 2026-08-27

The root key

A file with the wrong root key is read and does nothing – without an error message. That is why the format is stated here next to the location.

Other clients read a different format: Claude Code, Visual Studio Code, Codex CLI. All clients side by side

Build a configuration for Cursor

The builder forms the block from the registry data of a chosen server and prints it in exactly the format Cursor reads.

Build a configuration for Cursor

What the builder can produce a file for

12,154 of the 26,983 published entries carry a package coordinate from which a published start template forms a block. The remaining 14,829 name no package or a source without a published template; for those the builder produces nothing and says why.

What is NOT stated here

This registry holds no statement about which server works with which client. No manifest declares a client list, and the registry invents none. What is stated here is the file format and its location according to the client’s own documentation – not a claim about a server.

Client knowledge version: 1

tracevero · https://tracevero.com/klient/cursor