Synup MCP gives you direct access to your Synup data inside Cursor, letting you query locations, pull reviews, analyze rankings, manage listings, and more through natural language without leaving your editor. Once connected, you can prompt Cursor's AI to work with your Synup account the same way you would in any other MCP-enabled client.
Cursor supports two ways to add Synup MCP — a one-click install link that handles the config automatically, or a manual setup where you edit the config file directly. Both methods lead to the same result.
You will need:
read — Query-only. Cursor can pull and analyze your Synup data but cannot make changes. Recommended for testing.
write — Full access. Cursor can respond to reviews, post to social media, launch campaigns, and make changes on your behalf.
Start with read mode when setting up for the first time and switch to write when you're ready to take actions.
Cursor supports a one-click install URL that pre-fills the MCP configuration for you. This is the fastest way to get connected.
Clicking this link will open Cursor and prompt you to confirm adding the Synup MCP server. Once added, you still need to update the config with your actual API key — the link pre-fills everything except the key itself. Follow the steps in Option B below to open mcp.json and replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your real key.
If you prefer to configure things yourself, or if you used the one-click link and need to add your API key, edit the Cursor MCP config file directly.
Cursor stores its MCP configuration in a file called mcp.json. Its location depends on your operating system:
Opening it on macOS using Terminal:
bash
code ~/.cursor/mcp.json
Opening it on macOS using Finder:
Opening it on Windows:
If the file doesn't exist yet, create it in that folder — Cursor will read it on next launch.
If the file is empty or brand new, paste in the following:
json
{
"mcpServers": {
"synup": {
"url": "https://mcp-agent.synup.com/mcp",
"type": "http",
"headers": {
"X-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
"X-access-mode": "read"
}
}
}
}
If the file already has other MCP servers configured, add the Synup block inside the existing "mcpServers" section like this:
json
{
"mcpServers": {
"some-other-server": {
...
},
"synup": {
"url": "https://mcp-agent.synup.com/mcp",
"type": "http",
"headers": {
"X-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE",
"X-access-mode": "read"
}
}
}
}
Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with the key you copied from Synup Settings → Integrations. Change read to write if you want full access.
Save the file and fully quit Cursor, then reopen it. Cursor only reads the MCP config at startup, so closing a panel or tab is not enough — you need a full restart.
Once Cursor restarts, open a new chat and try one of these prompts:
Which Synup account am I connected to?
List my first 5 locations from Synup
Show my account info from Synup
If authentication is working, Cursor will return your actual Synup account data. If you see a connection or authentication error, refer to the troubleshooting section below.
Once connected, you can use natural language in Cursor to work with your Synup data, including:
The one-click install link didn't work. Make sure Cursor is installed and open before clicking the link. If Cursor doesn't launch automatically, try right-clicking the link and opening it directly. If the link opens but the server doesn't appear in your config, use the manual setup method instead.
Authentication error on every request. This almost always means the API key is missing, incorrect, or not being sent. Verify that YOUR_API_KEY_HERE has been replaced with your actual key, that the header names are exactly X-api-key and X-access-mode, and that Cursor was fully restarted after saving the config.
Cursor shows a config error on launch. This is usually a JSON formatting issue. A missing comma, mismatched bracket, or stray character will break the entire file. Paste your mcp.json contents into jsonlint.com to check for errors before restarting Cursor.
The field should be type, not transport. Unlike Claude Code's terminal command which uses --transport http, the mcp.json config file requires "type": "http". Using transport in the JSON will cause the server to be skipped.
Synup MCP doesn't appear in Cursor's tool list. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json and confirm the Synup block is inside the "mcpServers" object and not outside it. If it is placed at the wrong nesting level, Cursor will not recognize it as a valid server.
Changes to the config aren't taking effect. Cursor caches MCP connections and only reloads them at startup. Always do a full quit and relaunch after editing mcp.json — opening a new Cursor window or reloading a project is not sufficient.
I want to switch from read to write mode. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json, change "X-access-mode": "read" to "X-access-mode": "write", save the file, and fully restart Cursor.