# title: Install in Cursor description: Skill directories and mcp.json entries for Cursor. order: 12 section: Install

# Install in Cursor

Based on the Cursor documentation as checked on 2026-11-09.

# Skills

Cursor discovers skills in these directories:

skills install @<namespace>/<slug> --client cursor              # ~/.cursor/skills/<slug>
skills install @<namespace>/<slug> --client cursor --project    # .cursor/skills/<slug>

By hand: download, verify and extract exactly as in the generic instructions, into one of the directories above.

# MCP servers

Cursor reads .cursor/mcp.json in a project and ~/.cursor/mcp.json globally. The artifact page generates the entry.

Local server (stdio):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "<name>": { "type": "stdio", "command": "<command>", "args": ["…"], "env": { "API_KEY": "${env:API_KEY}" } }
  }
}

Remote server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "<name>": { "url": "https://example.org/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:THEIR_TOKEN}" } }
  }
}

Cursor's variable syntax is ${env:NAME}, which differs from Claude Code's ${NAME}. Do not copy entries between the two without adjusting it.

# The registry's own MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skills-registry": { "url": "https://skills.spboucher.ai/mcp" }
  }
}

See MCP reference.