Add the Node-RED MCP server to Cursor

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run Node-RED in Cursor — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

  • Cursor installed.
  • NODE_RED_URL — URL of your Node-RED instance (e.g. http://localhost:1880).

Setup

1. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json

2. Add this configuration

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json

~/.cursor/mcp.json
json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "node-red": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "node-red-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NODE_RED_URL": "<NODE_RED_URL>",
        "NODE_RED_TOKEN": "<NODE_RED_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Cursor and confirm the Node-RED tools load.

Gotchas

Cursor keeps MCP servers under an "mcpServers" object in ~/.cursor/mcp.json for global use, and also reads a project-scoped .cursor/mcp.json so a repository can ship its own servers. Remote servers are configured with a bare "url" field and connect natively, with OAuth handled in-app when a server requires it.

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