Cursor — MCP Configs
- File format
- JSON
- Discovery path
-
.cursor/mcp.json - Syllago install method
- JSON merge
- Symlink support
- No
- Config file
-
.cursor/mcp.json - Transports
-
stdio,sse,streamable-http
Features
How each feature converts to syllago's canonical format. See format conversion for what these statuses mean.
Fields
Native frontmatter or config fields this provider exposes. The first column is the provider's own field name; the canonical key column links to syllago's cross-provider equivalent.
| Config key | Conversion | Canonical key | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
type | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | — | Supports stdio (local, single-user), sse (local/remote, multi-user via Server-Sent Events), and streamable-http (local/remote, multi-user via HTTP) transports chosen by the server configuration. |
env | Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more → | — | Per-server env maps pass environment variables (including secrets sourced from the user's shell) to stdio servers; configuration also supports ${env:NAME}, ${userHome}, and ${workspaceFolder} interpolation syntax. |
permissions | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | — | Users can configure permanent per-tool approval through permissions.json files, preventing repeated approval prompts for trusted MCP tools. |
Other features
Behaviors, conventions, and capabilities that aren't tied to a single named field — things like path-based activation, discovery rules, and lifecycle behavior.
| Feature | Conversion | Summary |
|---|---|---|
auto_approve | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Users can configure permanent permissions through permissions.json files so that specific MCP tools do not require per-invocation approval; auto-run functionality can also be enabled globally. |
env_var_expansion | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Server configuration supports variable interpolation using ${env:NAME} for environment variables, ${userHome} for the user's home directory, and ${workspaceFolder} for the workspace root — not limited to env blocks alone. |
marketplace | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Cursor ships an in-IDE MCP Marketplace for discovering and installing community MCP servers with one-click installation. |
oauth_support | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Remote servers using the streamable-http transport support OAuth authentication; static client credentials can be used instead of dynamic registration. The documentation explicitly notes OAuth as a streamable-http capability. |
| Project and global MCP config files | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Project-scope servers live in .cursor/mcp.json at the repo root; user-global servers live in ~/.cursor/mcp.json. |
resource_referencing | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | MCP resources (structured data sources) are documented as a supported protocol capability alongside tools, prompts, roots, elicitation, and Apps. |
transport_types | Translated Conversion type: Translated Actively mapped to the target provider’s equivalent field during conversion. Learn more → | Cursor documents three MCP transports: stdio for local processes managed by Cursor, sse for Server-Sent Events (local or remote, multi-user), and streamable-http for HTTP-based servers (local or remote, multi-user) with OAuth authentication support. |
| Full MCP protocol capability set: tools, prompts, resources, roots, elicitation, Apps | Preserved Conversion type: Preserved Syntax survives conversion but the target provider may not interpret it. Learn more → | Cursor supports the full MCP protocol capability surface including tools (executable functions), prompts (templated workflows), resources (structured data sources), roots (server-initiated URI inquiries), elicitation (user information requests), and Apps (interactive UI extensions). |
| In-IDE MCP Marketplace | Not portable Conversion type: Not portable Unique to this provider — can’t be carried across providers. Learn more → | Cursor exposes an MCP Marketplace inside the IDE for browsing and one-click installing community MCP servers without editing mcp.json by hand. |
Sources
| Source |
|---|
| https://cursor.com/docs/mcp |