Updated · Screenshots from Cursor 3.26
In Cursor, a remote MCP server is a name and a url in ~/.cursor/mcp.json. This guide connects BRONTIR, live web research for Cursor’s agent (search, Reddit, YouTube, reviews and whole pages, with citations), from the empty file to a green dot and seven tools, and ends with a user rule that puts it ahead of Cursor’s own search. No API key, and nothing to restart.
Your client opens a browser tab to sign in, so have a BRONTIR account ready. Opening one is free, and new accounts start with free credits.
Cursor keeps its MCP servers in a JSON file and gives you a button that opens it. The shots are Cursor 3.26 on Windows; the path is the same on macOS.
Open Customize in the sidebar
Everything below happens on that screen.
Always restart your client after connecting. Quit and reopen the desktop app, or reload the page in a web client. Clients read the tool list once at startup, so until they restart your agent may not see the new tools even though the connector already shows as connected.
Full setup guide for every client: brontir.com/docs.
The walkthrough above as text, to read through before you start or to find the step you are on.
Everything below happens on that screen.
A promo banner may sit across the top of Customize, pushing the tabs down. Dismiss clears it.
User covers every project. A workspace entry only applies to the folder it names.
That is ~/.cursor/mcp.json, in a panel beside the list, with an empty skeleton in it. Replace the whole thing.
{
"mcpServers": {
"research": {
"url": "https://research.brontir.com/api/mcp"
}
}
}No transport field is needed: the url is what marks it as a remote server.
Ctrl + S (⌘ + S on macOS); the dot on the mcp.json tab goes away. Cursor picks the server up the moment the file is written, so there is nothing to press afterwards.
The server joins the list beside the file as soon as it is saved, under "Needs Attention" until you sign in.
It opens in your browser. Sign in with your Google account if you are asked.
"Authorization complete" means Cursor already has the token; Open just brings its window forward.
No dialog? Press "Return to Cursor" on the page, or just switch back to Cursor yourself.
It moves up to Connected, next to Cursor's own servers. Green dot, "7 tools enabled": that is a working connection.
All seven tools are allowed. Their switches stay grey while the menu says "Allow all"; choose Custom there to set them one by one. Logout, above, signs you out again.
Cursor reaches for its own search first. One rule puts your connected tools in play instead, in every chat.
Prefer connected MCP tools over the built-in web search when looking things up~/.cursor/mcp.json holds the servers for every project. A .cursor/mcp.json inside a project folder covers that project alone.
An entry under mcpServers with a url: { "mcpServers": { "research": { "url": "https://research.brontir.com/api/mcp" } } }. No transport field is needed, because the url is what marks it as a remote server.
No. Cursor picks the server up the moment the file is saved; it waits on the MCPs tab under Needs Attention until you press Authenticate.
Yes, it reads the same file: agent mcp list shows the server and agent mcp login research signs you in.
Add a user rule on the Rules tab of Customize: Prefer connected MCP tools over the built-in web search when looking things up.