Installing LemonCrow into Cursor IDE

Support level: MCP server (stdio JSON-RPC)

Quick Install

make install

By default this installs Cursor user/global MCP config. For a project-local install:

bash scripts/install_cursor.sh --workspace /path/to/workspace

What Gets Installed

Artifact	Global install	`--workspace DIR` install
MCP server config	`~/.cursor/mcp.json`	`<workspace>/.cursor/mcp.json`
Rules (optional)	(none — Cursor rules are project-only)	`<workspace>/.cursor/rules/*.mdc`

The installer merges a lemoncrow entry into the mcpServers key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "lc": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "lc mcp",
      "args": ["--host", "cursor"]
    }
  }
}

For global installs, Cursor's working directory for MCP subprocesses is not the workspace root, so we inject args that handle workspace resolution automatically. The --host cursor flag tells LemonCrow's MCP server which agent environment it's running in, enabling correct trace labeling.

Cursor Rules (`.cursor/rules/*.mdc`)

Cursor's rules system is project-scoped — there is no global equivalent. When installing project-locally, the installer copies the checked-in LemonCrow rule set so Cursor's agent prefers LemonCrow's MCP tools and starts with context:

---
description: LemonCrow-first tool selection for Cursor. Call context first and use LemonCrow MCP tools before Cursor native tools.
alwaysApply: true
---

Start coding tasks with LemonCrow `context` using the task, domain, files, and planned tools.
Treat Cursor native tools as fallback-only when an LemonCrow equivalent exists.

Verify

make verify

Or manually:

lc mcp --host cursor --version

Expected Behavior

Cursor connects to the LemonCrow MCP server via stdio on startup
LemonCrow tools (context, trace, rescue, verify, memory, read, edit, sql, search, compact, bash, code) appear in Cursor's tool list
With LEMONCROW_DEV_MODE=1, all tools are fully visible and active
trace remains the stable observable recording surface
Cursor's agent uses LemonCrow's context tool for task-level reasoning

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
"lc mcp: command not found"	Run `pip install lemoncrow` or reinstall via `make install`
MCP tools not showing up	Restart Cursor completely (Cmd+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window")
Tools fail with "host not cursor"	Check `~/.cursor/mcp.json` has `--host cursor` in args
Cursor workspace not detected	For global installs, ensure you open a folder/workspace in Cursor before using MCP

Uninstall

lc uninstall

Or manually remove the lemoncrow entry from ~/.cursor/mcp.json and delete .cursor/rules/lemoncrow.mdc if present.

Quick Install​

What Gets Installed​

Cursor Rules (.cursor/rules/*.mdc)​

Verify​

Expected Behavior​

Troubleshooting​

Uninstall​