MCP

Overview

The Cursor CLI supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, allowing you to connect external tools and data sources to agent. MCP in the CLI uses the same configuration as the editor - any MCP servers you've configured will work with both.

CLI commands

Use the agent mcp command to manage MCP servers

List configured servers

View all configured MCP servers and their current status:

agent mcp list

This opens an interactive menu where you can browse, enable, and configure MCP servers at a glance. The list shows:

• Server names and identifiers
• Connection status (connected/disconnected)
• Configuration source (project or global)
• Transport method (stdio, HTTP, SSE)

You can also use the /mcp list slash command in interactive mode for the same interface.

List available tools

View tools provided by a specific MCP server:

agent mcp list-tools <identifier>

This displays:

• Tool names and descriptions
• Required and optional parameters
• Parameter types and constraints

Login to MCP server

Authenticate with an MCP server configured in your mcp.json:

agent mcp login <identifier>

The CLI uses a streamlined login flow with automatic callback handling. The agent gets access to authenticated MCPs immediately after login completes.

Enable MCP server

Enable an MCP server:

agent mcp enable <identifier>

This adds the server to the local approved list.

Disable MCP server

Disable an MCP server:

agent mcp disable <identifier>

Disabled servers won't load or prompt for approval.

Using MCP with Agent

Once you have MCP servers configured (see the main MCP guide for setup), agent automatically discovers and uses available tools when relevant to your requests.

# Check what MCP servers are availableagent mcp list# See what tools a specific server providesagent mcp list-tools playwright# Use agent - it automatically uses MCP tools when helpfulagent -p "Navigate to google.com and take a screenshot of the search page"# Auto-approve all MCP servers (skip approval prompts)agent --approve-mcps "query my database for recent errors"

The CLI follows the same configuration precedence as the editor (project → global → nested), automatically discovering configurations from parent directories.

MCP vs ACP

Use MCP when you want Cursor to call external tools and services. Use ACP when you want to build a custom client that talks to Cursor CLI itself over protocol messages.

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