Cursor CLI - Can't use remote MCP Servers or local with auth requirements

Bug Reports
1

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor CLI

Describe the Bug

Running cursor-agent mcp list will not show remote servers or servers with Auth requirements.

Steps to Reproduce

in your ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-atlassian": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-v",
        "~/.mcp-atlassian:/home/app/.mcp-atlassian",
        "-e",
        "JIRA_URL",
        "-e",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID",
        "-e",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET",
        "-e",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI",
        "-e",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_SCOPE",
        "-e",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLOUD_ID",
        "mcp/atlassian:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "JIRA_URL": "https://smg-re.atlassian.net",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "xxx",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "xxx",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI": "http://localhost:8085/callback",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_SCOPE": "write:jira-work read:jira-work offline_access",
        "ATLASSIAN_OAUTH_CLOUD_ID": "xxx"
      }
    },
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer xxx"
      }
    },
    "context7": {
      "url": "https://mcp.context7.com/mcp"
    },
    "aws-knowledge-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://knowledge-mcp.global.api.aws"
    }
  }
}

Then run cursor-agent mcp list.
=>

No MCP servers configured (expected in .cursor/mcp.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json)

Expected Behavior

All of the are showing up and working as in the Cursor Desktop app.

Operating System

MacOS

Current Cursor Version (Menu → About Cursor → Copy)

Cursor CLI Version: 2025.09.18-7ae6800

For AI issues: which model did you use?

All

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

2

Hey, thanks for the report. We’re already aware of this, and it will be fixed soon.

1 Like
3

Thanks! Looking forward to an update on this :slight_smile:

4

Looking for status on the fix. Still occurring in the latest version. It’s a work blocker, must be fixed ASAP.

Bug Report: MCP Client Not Sending Headers from Configuration

Issue: Cursor’s MCP client is not automatically including headers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json configuration file when making
requests to MCP servers.
Expected Behavior:
• MCP client should automatically include headers defined in mcp.json configuration
• Headers should be sent in requestInfo according to MCP standard

Actual Behavior:
• Headers are not being sent with MCP requests
• Server returns authentication errors because Authorization header is missing

Configuration:

 1 │{
 2 │  "mcpServers": {
 3 │    "forge-mcp": {
 4 │      "url": "http://localhost:4001/mcp",
 5 │      "headers": {
 6 │        "Authorization": "Bearer eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIs...",
 7 │        "x-api-key": "aup-forge"
 8 │      }
 9 │    }
10 │  }
11 │}

Evidence:
• forge-mcp-echo works (basic MCP connection)
• forge-mcp-getLibraries fails with “Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘startsWith’)”
• Server expects Authorization header but doesn’t receive it

Cursor Version: 1.7.52
Impact: MCP servers requiring authentication cannot function properly
This is a critical bug that prevents authenticated MCP servers from working correctly.

5

Hi, any update. Judging from @roche’s comment the problem seems to be identified.

6

Thanks for replying. I can confirm that the MCP integration is indeed leveraging the headers in the LLM’s calls to the service. Thanks.