How-to

Connect Cursor

Point Cursor at one local LightNow Proxy. From there, use LightNow to choose the MCP servers Cursor should see, keep secrets out of local config, and inspect tool usage in one place.

Cursor setupCursor starts one LightNow Proxy; LightNow manages the server set

AI clientCursorreads JSON mcpServers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json

stdio

LightNow Local Proxylightnow-proxypresents the selected profile as one local server

LightNow

LightNowConfig + Analyzeprofile, workspace, policy, events and tool usage

Already have MCP servers in Cursor?

Import them before you sync. Local Proxy mode turns Cursor's MCP list into one LightNow entry. Existing servers you still need should become part of a Runtime Profile first.

Fast setup

1

Install LightNow

Install the CLI and the local proxy on this machine.

2

Sign in

Sign in so LightNow can use your account and selected workspace.

3

Sync Cursor

Replace direct MCP entries with one LightNow Proxy entry.

4

Restart Cursor

Restart Cursor so the MCP server list is loaded again.

Recommended for macOS

brew tap lightnow-ai/tap
brew install lightnow-cli lightnow-proxy
lightnow login
lightnow import-config --client cursor
lightnow sync --client cursor --local-proxy

Windows or Linux

Windows

py -m pip install --user pipx
py -m pipx ensurepath
py -m pipx install lightnow-cli
py -m pipx install lightnow-proxy
lightnow login
lightnow import-config --client cursor
lightnow sync --client cursor --local-proxy

Linux

python3 -m pip install --user pipx
python3 -m pipx ensurepath
python3 -m pipx install lightnow-cli
python3 -m pipx install lightnow-proxy
lightnow login
lightnow import-config --client cursor
lightnow sync --client cursor --local-proxy

Runtime Profile

LightNow uses the default Runtime Profile unless you pass --profile <name>.

Config files

These are the files LightNow touches for Cursor:

Cursor config

~/.cursor/mcp.json

Local Proxy config

~/.lightnow/lightnow-proxy/cursor.yaml

What gets written

Cursor reads MCP servers from JSON. After sync, that JSON contains one top-level mcpServers.LightNow entry:

~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "LightNow": {
      "command": "lightnow-proxy",
      "args": [
        "--config",
        "~/.lightnow/lightnow-proxy/cursor.yaml",
        "--transport",
        "stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

When LightNow can resolve the full lightnow-proxy path, it writes the absolute path. The proxy YAML stores the Cursor client name, stdio transport, selected Runtime Profile, workspace context, policy settings, telemetry preference and secret-resolution mode. Cursor does not receive the commands, URLs or secret values for every server in the profile.

Existing Cursor config

When Local Proxy mode replaces direct MCP entries, LightNow removes the top-level JSON mcpServers and servers sections, then adds LightNow. Other Cursor JSON fields stay in the file, so editor preferences and unrelated settings are preserved.

Run import first when your current Cursor config contains servers you want to keep:

Import before replacing direct Cursor entries

lightnow import-config --client cursor
lightnow sync --client cursor --local-proxy

Preview before applying

Use lightnow import-config --client cursor --dry-run to review what LightNow found before it changes the Runtime Profile. Entries marked mapped or custom can be imported; ambiguous and blocked entries need a decision first.

Team rollout

For a managed team rollout, switch to the organization context first, then let policy drive the sync:

Use LightNow-managed client policy

lightnow context --tenant acme
lightnow sync --client cursor --from-settings
lightnow config-status --client cursor --json

--from-settings lets LightNow choose the profile, telemetry setting, managed clients and unmanaged-entry policy for Cursor. Use it after the organization profile is ready and the pilot setup works as expected.

Related guides

Import existing MCP config

Move useful Cursor MCP entries into a Runtime Profile before replacing the local file.

Debug Local Proxy

Use config-status, proxy health JSON and redacted protocol capture when Cursor cannot see tools.

MCP client support

Compare client targets, default paths, Local Proxy support and import support across Codex, Claude, Cursor, VS Code and others.