MCP (Model Context Protocol)

MCP lets the Cursor assistant talk to external services (deployments, databases, issue trackers, etc.) through a standard protocol. We use it so the assistant can reason about live state without leaving the editor.

Installed MCP servers

We use several MCP servers; some are project-configured in .cursor/mcp.json, others are installed via Cursor’s UI or plugins. This section documents all of them.

Server	Tools / resources	Purpose
GitHub	43 tools, 2 prompts	Repo state, PRs, issues, Actions. Use when the assistant needs to reason about branches, CI runs, or GitHub API.
Linear	21 tools	Issues, projects, labels. Use when working on a Linear issue, creating issues, or syncing status. Complements our linear:workon and commit-linking workflow.
MongoDB	17 tools, 2 resources	Database queries and schema. Use when the assistant needs to inspect or reason about data in Mongo (e.g. Atlas or local).
Notion	(can be disabled)	Pages and databases. We are considering deprecating Notion in favor of in-repo docs; when enabled, use for specs or knowledge base.
Render	24 tools	Deployments, services, logs. Use for deploy status, build output, and ops. Project config in .cursor/mcp.json typically includes Render.

The Reference table under “MCP Servers” is generated from .cursor/mcp.json only (project-level config). Servers you install via the Cursor UI or plugins (e.g. GitHub, Linear, MongoDB, Notion) are not in that file, so they won’t appear in the generated table—but they are documented here so the full set is clear.

Configuration

MCP servers can be:

• Project-configured — In .cursor/mcp.json under mcpServers. Each entry has a name and connection details (URL, headers for auth, etc.). Secrets (e.g. API keys) should not be committed; use environment variables or Cursor’s secret handling where possible.
• IDE / plugin-installed — Added via Cursor’s “Installed MCP Servers” (or plugins). These may be global or per-workspace; they don’t appear in the repo’s mcp.json but are available to the assistant when enabled.

When the assistant uses MCP

The assistant is instructed to use MCP when the user’s question involves:

• Deploy status or logs — Render.
• Issues, projects, labels — Linear.
• Repo, PRs, CI — GitHub.
• Data or schema — MongoDB.
• Specs or wikis — Notion (if still in use).

Rules and skills don’t mandate MCP for every task—only when the task benefits from live data from those services.

Adding a new MCP server

1. Add the server config to .cursor/mcp.json (or the appropriate config your Cursor version uses).
2. Run pnpm docs:ai-ecosystem:generate so the Reference lists it.
3. Add a short subsection here describing what the server is for and when to use it.

The generator scans MCP config and updates the reference so the ecosystem doc stays in sync with what’s actually enabled.