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1

Create an MCP key

In Prefer, open Integrations → MCP in the left navigation and create a key on the Keys tab. See MCP keys.
2

Put the key in an environment variable

Add the key to your shell profile, for example ~/.zshrc, so it stays out of your config files:
Then restart Cursor so it picks up the variable.
3

Add Prefer to mcp.json

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json to use Prefer in every project, or .cursor/mcp.json in a project for that project only:
Cursor replaces ${env:PREFER_MCP_KEY} with the value from your environment.
4

Ask

In Cursor’s agent, ask in plain words, for example “Which Prefer actions should we fix first?”. Cursor asks before it uses an MCP tool.
If Prefer does not connect, open the Output panel (Cmd+Shift+U on macOS), choose MCP Logs, and check for an authentication error. A revoked or mistyped key is refused; create a new key in Prefer and update the variable.
Turn the server on or off from Customize in Cursor’s sidebar. Cursor’s own guide: MCP in Cursor.