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Connect Cursor

2 min read

Cursor reads MCP servers from an mcp.json file. Hawzu connects with an access token in a header.


  1. Create an access token in Hawzu, setting Used for to MCP (AI clients). See Create an access token.

    An existing API token will not work here — MCP and the REST API take separate tokens.

  2. Put the token in your environment rather than in the file. On macOS or Linux, add this to your shell profile:

    export HAWZU_TOKEN="your-token-here"
  3. Open Cursor Settings → MCP → Add new MCP server, or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly, and add:

    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "hawzu": {
          "url": "https://app.hawzu.com/mcp",
          "headers": {
            "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:HAWZU_TOKEN}"
          }
        }
      }
    }
  4. Restart Cursor, then check that hawzu shows as connected in the MCP settings panel.


A .cursor/mcp.json in a repository applies to that project only. Use the same shape as above, and keep using ${env:...} — a per-project file is more likely to be committed, not less.


Cursor’s agent will call the tools on its own once it knows the server is there:

  • “Which Hawzu projects can you see?”
  • “What test cases cover the checkout flow?”
  • “Are there open defects linked to the tests for this module?”

SymptomCause
Server shows red or “failed”The URL is wrong, or HAWZU_TOKEN is unset in the environment Cursor inherited. Restart Cursor after setting it.
${env:HAWZU_TOKEN} sent literallyCursor did not resolve the variable — confirm the shell it launched from exports it.
Connects, but questions are refusedThe workspace_id being asked about is not the one the token was issued for, or the token has been revoked. An MCP token has no role to check.
Cursor describes a tool differently from these pagesIt is working from the tool list it fetched when it connected. Quit and reopen Cursor. See Keeping a connection current.