---
title: Cursor Setup
sidebarTitle: "Cursor"
---

<div className="flex items-center space-x-4 mb-6">
  <img src="/logo/cursor-logo.svg" className="w-12 h-12" alt="Cursor" />
  <div>
    <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold">Cursor AI Editor</h1>
    <p className="text-gray-600">AI-powered VS Code fork with built-in MCP support</p>
  </div>
</div>

Cursor offers the smoothest Task Master experience with one-click installation and native MCP integration.

## 🚀 One-Click Install (Recommended)

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  <div className="flex items-center space-x-2 mb-3">
    <span className="text-blue-600 dark:text-blue-400 text-lg">⚡</span>
    <h3 className="font-semibold text-blue-800 dark:text-blue-200">Fastest Setup</h3>
  </div>
  
  <a href="cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=task-master-ai&config=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%3D">
    <img 
      className="block dark:hidden hover:opacity-80 transition-opacity cursor-pointer" 
      src="https://cursor.com/deeplink/mcp-install-light.png" 
      alt="Add Task Master MCP server to Cursor" 
      noZoom
    />
    <img 
      className="hidden dark:block hover:opacity-80 transition-opacity cursor-pointer" 
      src="https://cursor.com/deeplink/mcp-install-dark.png" 
      alt="Add Task Master MCP server to Cursor" 
      noZoom
    />
  </a>
</div>

<Warning>
**After one-click install**: You still need to add your actual API keys! The installer uses placeholder keys that must be replaced.
</Warning>

## 📋 Manual Setup

If you prefer manual configuration or the one-click install doesn't work:

### Step 1: Create MCP Configuration

Choose your configuration scope:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Global Config">
    Create or edit `~/.cursor/mcp.json` (macOS/Linux) or `%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json` (Windows):

    ```json
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "task-master-ai": {
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
          "env": {
            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
            "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
            "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_KEY_HERE",
            "GOOGLE_API_KEY": "YOUR_GOOGLE_KEY_HERE",
            "MISTRAL_API_KEY": "YOUR_MISTRAL_KEY_HERE",
            "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_KEY_HERE",
            "XAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_XAI_KEY_HERE"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="Project Config">
    Create `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project root:

    ```json
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "task-master-ai": {
          "command": "npx",
          "args": ["-y", "task-master-ai"],
          "env": {
            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
            "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="Windows Native">
    For Windows users without WSL:

    ```json
    {
      "mcpServers": {
        "task-master-ai": {
          "command": "cmd",
          "args": ["/c", "npx -y --package=task-master-ai task-master-ai"],
          "env": {
            "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY_HERE",
            "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY_HERE",
            "OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_KEY_HERE"
          }
        }
      }
    }
    ```

    <Note>
    **Alternative Windows Setup**: Use Claude Code's project-level installation:
    ```bash
    claude mcp add task-master-mcp -s project -- cmd /c "npx -y --package=task-master-ai task-master-ai"
    ```
    </Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Step 2: Enable MCP Server

1. Open Cursor Settings (`Ctrl+Shift+J` or `Cmd+Shift+J`)
2. Click the **MCP** tab in the left sidebar
3. Find `task-master-ai` and toggle it **ON**
4. Restart Cursor if needed

### Step 3: Verify Installation

In Cursor's chat panel, type:
```
help
```

You should see Task Master commands available. If you see "0 tools enabled", check your API keys and restart Cursor.

## 🔧 Configuration

### Add Your API Keys

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Required Keys">
    You need **at least one** of these:
    - `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` - For Claude models (recommended)
    - `OPENAI_API_KEY` - For GPT models  
    - `GOOGLE_API_KEY` - For Gemini models
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="Recommended Keys">
    For the best experience, also add:
    - `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` - Enables research features
    - `OPENAI_API_KEY` - Fallback option
  </Tab>
  
  <Tab title="All Supported Keys">
    Full list of supported API keys:
    - `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`
    - `PERPLEXITY_API_KEY` 
    - `OPENAI_API_KEY`
    - `GOOGLE_API_KEY`
    - `MISTRAL_API_KEY`
    - `OPENROUTER_API_KEY`
    - `XAI_API_KEY`
    - `AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY`
    - `OLLAMA_API_KEY`
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

### Configure Models (Optional)

In Cursor's chat, set your preferred models:

```
Change the main, research and fallback models to claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022, perplexity-llama-3.1-sonar-large-128k-online and gpt-4o-mini respectively.
```

## 🎯 Getting Started

### 1. Initialize Task Master

In Cursor's chat panel:
```
Initialize taskmaster-ai in my project
```

### 2. Create Your First Task

```
Can you help me implement user authentication for my web app?
```

### 3. Start Working

```
What's the next task I should work on?
```

## 🔍 Troubleshooting

<Accordion title="0 tools enabled in MCP settings">
- **Check API keys**: Ensure at least one API key is correctly set
- **Restart Cursor**: Close and reopen Cursor completely  
- **Check file paths**: Verify your `mcp.json` is in the correct location
- **Test manually**: Run `npx task-master-ai` in terminal to test
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="MCP server fails to start">
- **Update Node.js**: Ensure you have Node.js 16+ installed
- **Clear npm cache**: Run `npm cache clean --force`
- **Try global install**: Run `npm install -g task-master-ai`
- **Check permissions**: Ensure npm has permission to install packages
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Commands not working">
- **Verify installation**: Type `help` in chat to see available commands
- **Check project initialization**: Run `Initialize taskmaster-ai in my project`
- **Review logs**: Check Cursor's developer console for error messages
</Accordion>

## 💡 Pro Tips

<Tip>
**Use project-specific configs** for different API keys per project, especially when working with team projects that have shared API limits.
</Tip>

<Tip>
**Enable research mode** with a Perplexity API key to get AI-powered task suggestions based on the latest best practices.
</Tip>

<Tip>
**Set up keyboard shortcuts** in Cursor for common Task Master commands like "What's next?" or "Show task status".
</Tip>

---

<div className="bg-green-50 dark:bg-green-900/20 p-4 rounded-lg border border-green-200 dark:border-green-800">
  <div className="flex items-center space-x-2 mb-2">
    <span className="text-green-600 dark:text-green-400 text-lg">✅</span>
    <h3 className="font-semibold text-green-800 dark:text-green-200">Ready to go!</h3>
  </div>
  <p className="text-green-700 dark:text-green-300">
    You're all set with Cursor! Head over to our <a href="/getting-started/quick-start/prd-quick" className="underline">PRD guide</a> to create your first project.
  </p>
</div>