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Cursor

Add Ratel Local to Cursor through its standard MCP configuration.

Cursor can run Ratel Local as a standard stdio MCP server. The setup is manual because Ratel Local has no Cursor import, link, or setup adapter.

Do not use a Cursor agent flag

ratel-local import --agent cursor and ratel-local link --agent cursor are not supported. Those commands only adapt Claude Code and Codex configuration.

Add Ratel Local manually

Add upstreams to Ratel

Run from your project when you use project or local scope.

npx -y @ratel-ai/ratel-local mcp add \
  --scope user context7 -- npx -y @upstash/context7-mcp

npx -y @ratel-ai/ratel-local mcp list

Use --scope project for shared project configuration or --scope local for private project overrides. See MCP servers.

Add the Cursor MCP entry

Create .cursor/mcp.json in the project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json to make the gateway available in every workspace. Follow Cursor's MCP configuration reference.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ratel-local": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@ratel-ai/ratel-local",
        "serve",
        "--auto-config",
        "--project-root",
        "${workspaceFolder}"
      ]
    }
  }
}

--project-root makes Ratel load the workspace's project and local configuration even when Cursor starts the process from another directory. User configuration always loads first; project and local entries override it by name.

This direct serve path does not require the persistent daemon. Leave the package unversioned so Cursor and the configuration CLI follow the latest stable release.

Restart and verify

Open Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP. Confirm ratel-local is enabled and connected, then start a new chat.

Cursor CLI users can inspect the same entry:

cursor-agent mcp list
cursor-agent mcp list-tools ratel-local

The tool list should include search_capabilities and invoke_tool. It also includes get_skill_content when Ratel loads at least one skill.

Move existing Cursor servers

Cursor's native MCP entries are not imported automatically.

  1. Copy the current .cursor/mcp.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json somewhere safe.
  2. Add each upstream to Ratel with ratel-local mcp add.
  3. Add and verify the single ratel-local entry above.
  4. Remove the migrated native entries from Cursor's mcpServers object.
  5. Restart Cursor and begin a new chat.

Leaving a migrated server both native and behind Ratel exposes duplicate tool schemas. Ratel's backup command does not cover Cursor files that you edit yourself.

Verify the gateway

Ask Cursor to call the discovery tool directly:

Call Ratel's search_capabilities tool with:
{"query":"look up current React framework documentation","topKTools":3,"topKSkills":1}
Return the raw result.

See Progressive disclosure tools for the request and response contract.

If Cursor shows the server as connected but the tools are missing, toggle ratel-local off and on, then start a new chat. Continue with Troubleshooting.

Next steps

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