# Connect Cursor

> Connect Cursor to The Cloud with one click, or by adding four lines to mcp.json. Sign in through the browser once and Cursor works against your workspace.

## Connect Cursor

Cursor has two paths. The one-click deep link registers the server for you. The manual path is a small JSON file, per project or for every project. Both end at the same browser sign-in.

## Before you start

- A Cloud account. Create one at [thecloud.so](https://www.thecloud.so). The connection signs in as you, so the account has to exist first.
- Cursor installed. The deep link opens the app you have installed.

## The one address

There is a single MCP server address. It speaks HTTP JSON-RPC 2.0. You will paste it once:

```text
https://mcp.thecloud.so/mcp
```

## Steps

1. **One click, if Cursor is installed**: Open this link and Cursor adds the server under the name `the-cloud`. It is a cursor:// deep link, so it only works on a machine with Cursor installed.

```text
cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=the-cloud&config=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL21jcC50aGVjbG91ZC5zby9tY3AifQ==
```

2. **Or edit mcp.json by hand**: Put this in `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for every project, or a project's `.cursor/mcp.json` for just that one.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "the-cloud": { "url": "https://mcp.thecloud.so/mcp" }
  }
}
```

3. **Reload and sign in**: Open the Command Palette and run **Developer: Reload Window**. The first connection opens your browser to sign in to The Cloud.

## Verify it worked

Start a new chat and send one word: `sync`. The Cloud answers with its Charter, your memory, and a line confirming the sync. If you get that back, the connection is live and every other tool is available to that chat.

## Troubleshooting

- **The one-click link does nothing.** The browser could not hand the cursor:// scheme to an app. Install Cursor, or use the mcp.json path above, which needs no deep link.
- **The server shows up but has no tools.** Reload the window again. Cursor reads `tools/list` on connect, and a window that was open during the sign-in can hold the empty pre-auth list.
- **The tool list looks stale.** Reconnect the server, or restart Cursor, so it re-reads tools/list. The Cloud adds tools often and a client caches the list from its last handshake.
- **You are on Windsurf, not Cursor.** Windsurf uses `serverUrl` instead of `url` and needs a static key. The snippet is on [Connect into The Cloud](/docs/connect-into-the-cloud).

## Next

- [Connect into The Cloud](/docs/connect-into-the-cloud) for auth, every other client, and the full tool surface.
- [Tool reference](/docs/tool-reference) for every tool and its safety class.
- [Safety and consent](/docs/safety-and-consent) for what your AI can do without asking, and what it cannot.
- [Build on The Cloud](/docs/build-on-the-cloud) to ship a hosted Studio app from the client you just connected.