Hi! I’m following an lhremote + Linked Helper setup through Cursor and I want to confirm one step before continuing.
When I use:
lhremote start-instance
Linked Helper tries to migrate its database and I get:
no available migration for database version 221
and later the same error with version 222.
Restoring the Linked Helper backup fixes the issue, so I don’t want to run start-instance again until I know the correct method.
Right now, I can open Linked Helper normally and lhremote can see the workspace/account, but I want to connect Cursor/MCP to the already-open Linked Helper instance without triggering another database migration.
Could you please confirm:
Should lhremote start-instance be used with the current Linked Helper version?
If not, what is the correct way for Cursor/MCP to connect to an already-open Linked Helper instance?
Is there a recommended MCP action/command for this setup?
I just want to make sure I’m following the intended setup before continuing. Thanks!
Hey, thanks for the detailed description. Let’s break down what’s happening where.
Cursor here acts only as an MCP client. When you add lhremote, Cursor runs npx lhremote mcp and calls the tools it provides. Everything after that, app discovery, instance startup, database work, happens inside lhremote and Linked Helper on your machine. The no available migration for database version 221/222 message comes from Linked Helper itself, not Cursor, so we can’t change that behavior on our side.
On your questions:
Whether you should use start-instance with your current Linked Helper version is a question for the lhremote maintainer. start-instance asks the Launcher to start an instance, and since the migration error shows up there, it looks like it’s starting an instance build that’s not the same version you get when you start it normally from the Linked Helper UI. It’s worth reporting this on the lhremote GitHub page and including your Linked Helper version and the exact error text. Also make sure you’re on the latest lhremote version with npm install -g lhremote@latest.
If the instance is already running, you don’t need start-instance. Open Linked Helper normally, start the account instance from the UI, then in Cursor use find-app, then check-status. If check-status shows the instance is running, you can go straight to working with campaigns and messages. Only call start-instance when check-status says the instance isn’t running.
Recommended flow for your case: find-app → list-accounts → check-status → do your work, skipping start-instance and launch-app. You can also tell the agent directly in the prompt: “the Linked Helper instance is already running, don’t call start-instance or launch-app” so it won’t try to do that. Keep a Linked Helper backup handy, like you’re already doing.
If find-app can’t see the app when you launch Linked Helper normally, it likely means remote debugging isn’t enabled in that mode. At that point it’s best to check the lhremote docs and Linked Helper support. Let me know how it goes.