Cursor

Cursor

Supported

Install from OpenVSX

Cursor is a fork of VS Code that natively runs most VS Code extensions and adds its own MCP configuration surface. The same operator-terminals extension that powers the VS Code session manager runs in Cursor unmodified — the only difference is where the extension writes the MCP server entry.

Two Integration Paths

1. Extension Path (recommended)

Install operator-terminals from OpenVSX (Cursor’s default extension registry) or via a downloaded .vsix, then run Operator: Connect MCP Server from the command palette. Inside Cursor, the extension writes the operator MCP entry to ~/.cursor/mcp.json instead of VS Code’s workspace mcp.servers — Cursor’s MCP UI only surfaces user-scope entries, so writing workspace config would have no effect.

This path also gives you the sidebar (Queue / In Progress / Completed), styled terminals, and the rest of the extension’s features.

2. Native MCP Path (no extension)

If you don’t want the extension, you can register operator directly with Cursor:

1. From operator’s TUI, navigate to the Connections panel and trigger the WriteAndOpenMcpClientConfig action with client: "cursor". This writes a ready-to-paste snippet to <tickets>/operator/mcp/cursor.json and opens it in your editor.
2. Copy the snippet’s mcpServers.operator block into your ~/.cursor/mcp.json, merging with any existing entries.
3. Restart Cursor or toggle the server in Cursor Settings → MCP.

Installation

From OpenVSX (Cursor’s default)

1. Open Cursor.
2. Open the Extensions sidebar (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X).
3. Search for Operator Terminals.
4. Click Install.

Manual Installation

1. Download the .vsix from GitHub releases.
2. In Cursor, open Extensions, click the … menu, and pick Install from VSIX….

Configuration

The extension shares the same configuration as the VS Code session manager. Settings are scoped under operator.* in Cursor’s settings.json.

Setting	Default	Description
operator.webhookPort	7009	Port for webhook server
operator.autoStart	true	Start server on Cursor launch
operator.terminalPrefix	op-	Prefix for managed terminal names
operator.ticketsDir	.tickets	Path to tickets directory
operator.apiUrl	http://localhost:7008	Operator REST API URL

MCP Integration

Cursor’s ~/.cursor/mcp.json uses the mcpServers shape with command, args, and cwd — stdio only. SSE-style URL entries are not honored by Cursor’s MCP UI.

Requirements

• Operator must be running with [mcp].stdio_advertised = true in its config (this is the default). Restart the operator API after toggling.
• The operator binary path written into ~/.cursor/mcp.json is taken from the running operator process — if you reinstall or move the binary, re-run Operator: Connect MCP Server to refresh the path.

Merge Semantics

The extension’s Cursor-write path is additive:

• Any existing top-level keys in ~/.cursor/mcp.json are preserved.
• Any existing mcpServers.* entries (other servers you’ve registered) are preserved.
• Only mcpServers.operator is set or overwritten on each run.

If ~/.cursor/mcp.json exists but contains malformed JSON, the extension shows an error and refuses to overwrite the file — fix or remove it manually and re-run the command.

Commands

Same set as the VS Code session manager — access via the command palette (Cmd+Shift+P):

Command	Description
Operator: Start Webhook Server	Start the webhook server
Operator: Stop Webhook Server	Stop the webhook server
Operator: Connect MCP Server	Register operator with Cursor’s MCP (writes ~/.cursor/mcp.json)
Operator: Launch Ticket	Launch a ticket in a new terminal
Operator: Show Server Status	Display server status

Requirements

• Cursor with stable MCP support (Cursor 0.42 or later; verify Settings → MCP is present).
• Operator built from main or a release that includes the MCP stdio plan (operator mcp subcommand and [mcp].stdio_advertised config flag).

Troubleshooting

Operator MCP stdio entrypoint is not advertised

The descriptor your operator API returned did not include a stdio field, so Cursor cannot register the server. Set [mcp].stdio_advertised = true in your operator config and restart the API, then re-run Operator: Connect MCP Server.

Editing ~/.cursor/mcp.json manually

Open the file in any text editor. To remove the operator entry, delete the mcpServers.operator key (preserve the rest of the file’s structure). Save and restart Cursor or toggle the server in Cursor Settings → MCP.

Switching between VS Code and Cursor on the same workspace

If you previously ran Operator: Connect MCP Server in stock VS Code on the same workspace, the workspace mcp.servers.operator entry still exists in that workspace’s .vscode/settings.json. Running the command again in Cursor adds a user-scope entry in ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Both work in their respective hosts; the extension intentionally does not delete the workspace entry from inside Cursor (doing so would surprise you when you reopen the workspace in VS Code).

If you want a clean slate in only one of the two editors, delete the entry from the file Cursor or VS Code doesn’t see (.vscode/settings.json for VS Code, ~/.cursor/mcp.json for Cursor).

Cursor doesn’t see the operator server after running the command

1. Check that ~/.cursor/mcp.json exists and contains mcpServers.operator with command, args, and cwd.
2. Restart Cursor or open Cursor Settings → MCP and toggle the operator server off and on.
3. Confirm the command path in the JSON is executable (ls -l <path> and run it manually with <path> mcp — it should hang waiting for JSON-RPC on stdin, which is correct).