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Connect tools

Connect Cursor.

Let Cursor ask Kin how your code fits together. Configure the connection, restart Cursor and check that it answers about the project you intended.

How this works in Kin

Cursor keeps MCP servers in ~/.cursor/mcp.json, a file of their own rather than a key inside a larger settings file. The entry itself is the same JSON every other client gets, and it is not pinned to a repository.

Start with a disposable copy of your code. Examples below were checked on a specific build; language and workflow support are limited.

Check the example version and setup

Supported build

Every command below was run on Kin v0.7.6, macOS on Apple silicon, on 2026-09-09, against a four-file JavaScript repository created from scratch. The output shown is what that run printed. Current release: v0.7.19.

Before you start

  • Read /docs/agents first. Only the file differs.
  • Cursor installed and launched at least once, so it has a ~/.cursor directory.
  • A repository admitted with kin init.

The steps

  1. 01

    Let setup write the entry

    Cursor keeps MCP servers in their own file rather than inside a larger settings file.

    kin setup --intent agent
    Compare with the saved example output
      ✓ Cursor configured (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

    One row naming ~/.cursor/mcp.json. A project can also carry its own .cursor/mcp.json; the file above is the one setup writes, and it applies wherever you open Cursor.

  2. 02

    Read the entry it wrote

    The same JSON shape as Claude Code, in a different file, and not pinned to a repository.

    cat ~/.cursor/mcp.json
    Compare with the saved example output
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "kin": {
          "args": [
            "mcp",
            "start"
          ],
          "command": "/Users/troyfortinjr/.kin/bin/kin",
          "env": {
            "KIN_MCP_TOOL_PROFILE": "agent-default"
          }
        }
      }
    }

    A whole file rather than a key inside one. If you already had an mcpServers block here, Kin adds its own entry beside what was there.

  3. 03

    Reload Cursor and check the server answers

    Cursor reads MCP configuration when it starts. Setup already proved the entry answers on its own.

    kin setup status
    Compare with the saved example output
      ✓ MCP: Cursor                ok             mcpServers.kin present with agent-default profile (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

    The row above. If the client still shows nothing, restart it rather than re-running setup.

When the answer looks wrong

An empty or partial answer can reflect coverage, repository state, or an error. Each row below says what the state means and what to do next.

  • Cursor lists no Kin tools after setup.

    It read its configuration at launch.

    Restart Cursor, then run kin setup status to confirm the entry is still there.

  • A project-level .cursor/mcp.json is in play.

    A repository can carry its own MCP configuration, and that is a different file from the one setup writes.

    Check the project file too when a workspace behaves differently from the rest.

  • The entry points at a binary that no longer exists.

    The command is the absolute path recorded at setup time.

    Run kin setup --intent agent again from the current install.

Next action

Ask it a question you can check.

Pick a function you know, ask the agent for its callers, then run the same question on the command line and compare.

Find recorded callers