kaiva BRIDGE
CLIENT SETUP

How to add a remote MCP server to Cursor (mcp.json)

Updated

Add the server's address under mcpServers in ~/.cursor/mcp.json (every project) or .cursor/mcp.json (one project). Cursor then shows the server under Settings, MCP; click Connect to sign in with your Kaiva Bridge account, or add an Authorization header with a key instead.

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Step by step

  1. Open the file~/.cursor/mcp.json applies to every project; .cursor/mcp.json in a project folder applies to that project only. Create it if it is not there.
  2. Add the serverPaste the configuration below under mcpServers, with your server's address from its Connect tab. Keep any servers already in the file.
  3. Sign inIn Cursor, open Settings, then MCP, and click Connect next to the server to sign in with your Kaiva Bridge account. To use a key instead, add the headers line shown below.
  4. Use itAsk Cursor's agent to use one of the server's tools.

Or let the CLI write the file. It keeps your other entries and saves the old file as a backup:

Terminal
npx @kaiva/bridge login
npx @kaiva/bridge install your-server --client cursor
# --project writes this folder's .cursor/mcp.json instead

Cursor mcp.json for a remote MCP server

Signed in with your Kaiva Bridge account (no key in the file):

~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server": {
      "url": "https://api.kaiv.ai/api/bridge/mcp/your-server"
    }
  }
}

With a key instead of signing in

A gateway key (kv_live_...) calls one server. Create it on the server's Connect tab or under Keys & access. It is shown once; Bridge keeps only its hash.

~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "your-server": {
      "url": "https://api.kaiv.ai/api/bridge/mcp/your-server",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer kv_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Add the Kaiva Bridge connector to Cursor

The Kaiva Bridge connector lets Cursor's agent list your servers and create new ones from an OpenAPI spec, a database or a GraphQL API, after you sign in. It creates drafts; you publish them in the console.

One click: on kaiv.ai/bridge, Cursor in the menu next to Add to Claude opens Cursor's own install prompt with this entry.

~/.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kaiva-bridge": {
      "url": "https://api.kaiv.ai/api/bridge/manage/mcp"
    }
  }
}

If it does not connect

Check the address is exactly the one on the server's Connect tab, and that the server is published (a draft has no live address). A key must be a gateway key (kv_live_...); a management key (kv_mgmt_...) is refused by MCP servers. Then run the CLI's check, which tests each step of the connection and says which one failed:

Terminal
npx @kaiva/bridge doctor your-server

Other ways to do it

  • A local MCP server over stdioCursor can also start a server on your own machine with a command instead of a url. It needs no address, but it runs only where it is installed and holds its own credentials there.

Questions

Where is Cursor's MCP config file?
~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project, or .cursor/mcp.json inside a project for that project only.
Do I need an API key for Cursor?
No. Cursor can sign in to a Kaiva Bridge server with your Kaiva account (Settings, MCP, Connect). A gateway key in an Authorization header also works.
Which transport does Cursor use for a Kaiva Bridge server?
Streamable HTTP: the url entry. There is nothing to install or run on your machine.

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