GrepAI MCP Integration with Cursor

This skill covers integrating GrepAI with Cursor IDE using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

When to Use This Skill

Setting up GrepAI in Cursor
Enabling semantic search for Cursor AI
Configuring MCP for Cursor
Troubleshooting Cursor integration

What is Cursor?

Cursor is an AI-powered IDE that supports MCP for external tools. GrepAI integration gives Cursor's AI:

Semantic code search beyond simple text matching
Call graph analysis for understanding dependencies
Index-based code navigation

Prerequisites

GrepAI installed
Ollama running (or other embedding provider)
Project indexed (
```
grepai watch
```
)
Cursor IDE installed

Configuration

Step 1: Create MCP Config File

Create

.cursor/mcp.json

in your project root:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Restart Cursor

Close and reopen Cursor for the config to take effect.

Step 3: Verify

Ask Cursor's AI:

"Search the codebase for authentication"

Cursor should use the

grepai_search

tool.

Global Configuration

For GrepAI in all Cursor projects, use global config:

Location

macOS:
```
~/.cursor/mcp.json
```
Linux:
```
~/.cursor/mcp.json
```
Windows:
```
%APPDATA%\Cursor\mcp.json
```

Content

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Per-Project Configuration

For project-specific settings:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"],
      "cwd": "/absolute/path/to/project"
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Once configured, Cursor has access to:

Tool	Description
`grepai_search`	Semantic code search
`grepai_trace_callers`	Find function callers
`grepai_trace_callees`	Find function callees
`grepai_trace_graph`	Build call graphs
`grepai_index_status`	Check index health

Usage Examples

Finding Code

Ask Cursor:

"Find code that handles user login"

Cursor uses

grepai_search

to find semantically related code.

Understanding Dependencies

Ask Cursor:

"What functions call validateToken?"

Cursor uses

grepai_trace_callers

to show all callers.

Code Navigation

Ask Cursor:

"Show me the call graph for processPayment"

Cursor uses

grepai_trace_graph

to display dependencies.

Cursor Settings Integration

Enable MCP in Settings

Open Cursor Settings (
```
Cmd+,
```
/
```
Ctrl+,
```
)
Search for "MCP"
Ensure MCP is enabled

Verify MCP Status

Open Command Palette (
```
Cmd+Shift+P
```
/
```
Ctrl+Shift+P
```
)
Search "MCP"
Check connected servers

Windsurf Configuration

Windsurf uses the same MCP format as Cursor:

Location

Create

.windsurf/mcp.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"]
    }
  }
}

Multiple Projects Setup

Option 1: Separate Configs

Each project has its own

.cursor/mcp.json

with appropriate

cwd

Option 2: Workspaces

bash

# Create workspace
grepai workspace create dev
grepai workspace add dev /path/to/project1
grepai workspace add dev /path/to/project2

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve", "--workspace", "dev"]
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

If GrepAI uses environment variables (like API keys):

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "grepai": {
      "command": "grepai",
      "args": ["mcp-serve"],
      "env": {
        "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Better: Set environment variables in your shell profile instead.

Troubleshooting

MCP Not Recognized

❌ Problem: Cursor doesn't see GrepAI tools

✅ Solutions:

Check file location:
```
.cursor/mcp.json
```
in project root
Verify JSON syntax (no trailing commas)
Restart Cursor completely
Check
```
grepai
```
is in PATH

Search Returns Nothing

❌ Problem: Empty search results

✅ Solutions:

Ensure index exists:
```
grepai status
```
Run
```
grepai watch
```
first
Verify working directory

Connection Errors

❌ Problem: MCP connection failed

✅ Solutions:

Test manually:
```
grepai mcp-serve
```
Check Ollama:
```
curl http://localhost:11434/api/tags
```
Look at Cursor's developer console for errors

Wrong Results

❌ Problem: Results from wrong project

✅ Solutions:

Set explicit
```
cwd
```
in config
Check you opened the right folder in Cursor
Use
```
grepai_index_status
```
to verify

Performance Tips

Background daemon: Keep
```
grepai watch --background
```
running
Use compact mode: MCP tools use compact by default
Limit results: AI will request appropriate limits
Index regularly: Especially after git pull

Comparison: Cursor vs Claude Code

Feature	Cursor	Claude Code
Config location	`.cursor/mcp.json`	`~/.claude/mcp.json`
Setup command	Manual JSON	`claude mcp add`
Project scope	Per-project or global	Global
IDE integration	Native	Terminal

Best Practices

Version control: Add
```
.cursor/mcp.json
```
to git (without secrets)
Team setup: Document MCP config in README
Keep index fresh: Run watch daemon
Test locally: Verify
```
grepai mcp-serve
```
works first
Use workspaces: For multi-project setups

Removing Integration

Delete

.cursor/mcp.json

and restart Cursor.

Or remove just GrepAI:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    // Remove grepai entry
  }
}

Output Format

Successful Cursor setup:

✅ GrepAI MCP Integration for Cursor

   Config: .cursor/mcp.json
   Server: grepai mcp-serve
   Status: Ready

   Available tools:
   - grepai_search
   - grepai_trace_callers
   - grepai_trace_callees
   - grepai_trace_graph
   - grepai_index_status

   Cursor AI can now search your code semantically!

   Test: Ask Cursor "search for authentication code"

grepai-mcp-cursor

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

GrepAI MCP Integration with Cursor

When to Use This Skill

What is Cursor?

Prerequisites

Configuration

Step 1: Create MCP Config File

Step 2: Restart Cursor

Step 3: Verify

Global Configuration

Location

Content

Per-Project Configuration

Available Tools

Usage Examples

Finding Code

Understanding Dependencies

Code Navigation

Cursor Settings Integration

Enable MCP in Settings

Verify MCP Status

Windsurf Configuration

Location

Multiple Projects Setup

Option 1: Separate Configs

Option 2: Workspaces

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

MCP Not Recognized

Search Returns Nothing

Connection Errors

Wrong Results

Performance Tips

Comparison: Cursor vs Claude Code

Best Practices

Removing Integration

Output Format