Cursorist Docs
Integration

MCP Install Deeplinks

One-click MCP server setup via cursor:// deeplinks.

MCP install deeplinks let you share an MCP server configuration as a clickable URL. When clicked, Cursor adds the server to the user's .cursor/mcp.json — no manual editing required.

Format

cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=NAME&config=BASE64_CONFIG

The config parameter is a base64-encoded JSON object containing the MCP server configuration.

Config Structure

The decoded config JSON has these fields:

FieldTypeDescription
commandstringExecutable to run (e.g. npx)
argsstring[]Arguments (e.g. ["-y", "@cursorist/mcp-server@latest"])
envobjectEnvironment variables

Example decoded config:

{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@cursorist/mcp-server@latest"],
  "env": {
    "CURSORIST_API_URL": "https://cursor.ist/api",
    "CURSORIST_PLUGIN_MODE": "true",
    "CURSORIST_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
  }
}

The process: build the config object, base64-encode it, URL-encode the result, construct the deeplink.

interface MCPConfig {
  command: string;
  args?: string[];
  env?: Record<string, string>;
}

function generateMCPDeeplink(name: string, config: MCPConfig): string {
  const configJson = JSON.stringify(config);
  const base64Config = Buffer.from(configJson).toString("base64");
  const encodedName = encodeURIComponent(name);
  const encodedConfig = encodeURIComponent(base64Config);
  return `cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=${encodedName}&config=${encodedConfig}`;
}

How Cursorist Uses This

  • One-click MCP setup: The MCP button on cursor.ist fetches a ready-made deeplink from /api/mcp/deeplink
  • Authenticated config: The endpoint automatically includes the user's API key in the config
  • No manual editing: Users click the link, Cursor handles adding the server to .cursor/mcp.json

API Endpoint

/api/mcp/deeplink returns a pre-built MCP install deeplink. Requires authentication.

curl -H "Cookie: <session>" https://cursor.ist/api/mcp/deeplink
# {"deeplink":"cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=...&config=...","apiKey":"..."}