RecipesMCPCoding

Cursor with Markup AI MCP

Coding

Overview

Connect Cursor to the hosted Markup AI MCP server at https://api.markup.ai/mcp/ so your agent can run brand-voice, clarity, persona, and other content checks inline. Add the remote server and log in through your browser.

You’ll need a Markup AI account to continue. Sign up at https://console.markup.ai/signup.

Add the Markup AI MCP Server to Cursor

Log in with OAuth
1

Open your MCP config

  1. Open Cursor Settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,).
  2. Search for “MCP” and click Edit in mcp.json (use ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects or .cursor/mcp.json for one workspace).
2

Add the server

Add the Markup AI server as a remote HTTP server with no headers block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markup-ai": {
      "url": "https://api.markup.ai/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

If your config already has an mcpServers section, merge the "markup-ai" entry into it instead of duplicating the key.

3

Authenticate

  1. Save mcp.json.
  2. Cursor detects that the server requires authorization and starts the OAuth flow in your browser.
  3. Sign in to your Markup AI account and approve access. Cursor stores the token for you—there’s no key to manage.

Because there’s no secret in the file, this config is safe to commit to .cursor/mcp.json and share with your team. Each person logs in with their own Markup AI account.

1

Get your API key

  1. Visit https://console.markup.ai/signup and create an account.
  2. Copy your API key from the console.

Store your key securely. Prefer environment variables over committing keys to code—Cursor supports ${env:VAR} interpolation in headers.

2

Add the server with an Authorization header

Pass your key as a Bearer token:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markup-ai": {
      "url": "https://api.markup.ai/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:MARKUP_AI_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use either OAuth or an API-key header—not both. If you set an Authorization header, Cursor sends it instead of starting the login flow, so a bad key surfaces as a connection failure rather than an OAuth prompt.

Restart & Verify

  1. Save mcp.json.
  2. Fully restart Cursor.
  3. Open a new chat and confirm the markup-ai server and its tools are listed.

Test Your Setup

Check this for brand-voice drift: "The utilization of advanced methodologies facilitates enhanced operational efficiency."
Flag any hard-to-read sentences and rewrite them: "Remote work has fundamentally transformed how organizations operate in the modern business landscape."

Troubleshooting

  • If tools don’t appear, confirm mcp.json is valid JSON and mcpServers is at the top level.
  • Verify the URL is https://api.markup.ai/mcp/, including the trailing slash—without it the request redirects and Cursor can’t discover the OAuth endpoints.
  • If the login flow doesn’t start, make sure the entry has no headers block; an Authorization header suppresses OAuth.
  • Restart Cursor after changes; a full restart is often required.