Skip to main content

​
Cursor Setup

Add Counsel to Cursor for strategic debates in your IDE.

​
1-Click Install

The fastest way:

Install in Cursor

Visit the install page and click the Cursor button
This opens Cursor and automatically configures the MCP server.

​
Manual Setup

1

Get API Key

Sign up at counsel.getmason.io
2

Open MCP Settings

In Cursor: Settings → Features → MCP Servers
3

Add Configuration

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "counsel": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
4

Restart Cursor

Fully quit and restart Cursor to load the configuration

​
Project-Level Config

For project-specific configuration, create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root: 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "counsel": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}
The 1-click install uses this deeplink format: 
cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=counsel&config=<base64-config>
Generate your own: 
import base64
import json

config = {
    "mcpServers": {
        "counsel": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
            }
        }
    }
}

config_b64 = base64.b64encode(json.dumps(config).encode()).decode()
link = f"cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=counsel&config={config_b64}"
print(link)

​
Verify Installation

  1. Open Cursor’s MCP settings
  2. Look for counsel in the server list
  3. Status should show “Connected”

​
Usage

In Cursor’s AI chat: 
@counsel Run a debate on whether we should use GraphQL vs REST for our new API
Or naturally: 
Can you help me decide between PostgreSQL and MongoDB for our analytics workload?
Use Counsel to get multiple perspectives.

​
Troubleshooting

  1. Check ~/.cursor/mcp.json exists and has valid JSON
  2. Verify the URL: https://counsel-mcp.getmason.dev/mcp
  3. Completely quit Cursor (Cmd+Q) and restart
  1. API key must start with cns_
  2. Ensure no extra spaces in the key
  3. Check key is active in dashboard