Cursor

OpenKnowledge works with Cursor through MCP plus an installed skill.

Install

There are two ways to connect Cursor, depending on how you run OpenKnowledge:

• Desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux). The first time you open a project, a consent dialog detects Cursor and configures it for you. To re-trigger the dialog, choose File → Set up OpenKnowledge integrations….
• Web app / terminal (any platform, including Intel Macs — see the web app guide). Run ok init in your project: it registers the OpenKnowledge MCP server with Cursor and the other editors it detects. Every ok start repairs the entry if it has drifted (it never adds one you removed).

Enable the project server

Cursor lists a project-level .cursor/mcp.json server as Disabled until you turn it on, and it never prompts. A user-level registration (~/.cursor/mcp.json, which ok init writes by default) starts on its own, so with the default setup the agent already sees the tools and the disabled project entry changes nothing.

If you registered OpenKnowledge project-level only, or want the project entry active: open Customize → MCPs, pick open-knowledge, and switch on its .cursor/mcp.json source.

Described as of September 2026 (Cursor 3.19); Cursor renames this settings area often.

Open with AI

From the editor, Open with AI ▸ Cursor Desktop dispatches the current file, folder, or project to Cursor. Entry points: the sidebar's right-click menu (file / folder / empty space), the command palette, and the File → Open with AI menu. You can also hand the current doc to Cursor from the bottom Ask AI composer.

Cursor uses a two-step handoff: OpenKnowledge spawns cursor <projectDir> to open the workspace first, then fires the cursor:// URL with a short prompt asking Cursor to open the target in OpenKnowledge's web preview. The agent then grounds the rest of the conversation through MCP. See Editor → Open with AI for the full UX.

Both steps run through the local server's POST /api/handoff, the same path in the web app and the desktop app — so the Open with AI ▸ Cursor Desktop row works in both.

Verify

Ask the agent:

“List the first 5 documents you come across in this project.”Copy

The agent should call the OpenKnowledge exec tool and respond with some of your documents.

If it still doesn't see the tool, after enabling the project entry or while relying on the user-level entry, restart Cursor so it picks up the new MCP entry. If it's still missing and ok init reported your config was left unchanged, OpenKnowledge couldn't safely edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json for the reason shown in parentheses (unreadable, too large, or a duplicate server block) — fix the config and re-run ok init.