MCP SSH Tools Not Available in AI Assistant Contex

Hello ,

I’m experiencing an issue where MCP (Model Context Protocol) tools configured for SSH-MCP are not appearing in the available tools list for the AI assistant, even though the MCP server is properly configured in .cursor/mcp.json.

Problem Description:
I have configured an SSH-MCP server in my .cursor/mcp.json file to enable remote command execution on a server. Important: My SSH MCP worked perfectly before the latest Cursor update. As a senior DevOps engineer, I was successfully using MCP tools to execute commands on remote servers through the AI assistant. However, after the latest update, it stopped working completely. The configuration appears to be correct (unchanged from when it was working), but when I try to use the AI assistant, the MCP tools (specifically the exec tool from ssh-mcp) are not available in the tool list.

Configuration:
My .cursor/mcp.json contains:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ssh-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "ssh-mcp",
        "--",
        "--host=xx.90.46.xx",
        "--port=22",
        "--user=dockeruser",
        "--password=***",
        "--timeout=30000",
        "--maxChars=none"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Expected Behavior:
According to the documentation and prompts, I should be able to use MCP tools like mcp_kwork-ai-gemini-ssh-mcp_exec or similar to execute commands on the remote server through the AI assistant, without needing to use the local terminal.

Actual Behavior:

  • The MCP server appears to be configured correctly
  • However, when I query the AI assistant, it reports that MCP tools are not available in its tool list
  • Only list_mcp_resources and fetch_mcp_resource are available, but not the actual MCP tool execution functions
  • The AI assistant cannot find tools that start with mcp_* or contain ssh/exec in their names

What I’ve Tried:

  1. Verified the MCP configuration file syntax
  2. Checked that the ssh-mcp package should be available via npx
  3. Reviewed documentation for MCP tool naming conventions
  4. Attempted to use the tools as described in various prompts

Questions:

  1. Was there a breaking change in the latest update that affected MCP tool availability?
  2. Are MCP tools supposed to be automatically available to the AI assistant when configured in .cursor/mcp.json? (They were before the update)
  3. Is there a specific naming convention or prefix I should expect for MCP tools (e.g., mcp_*, mcp_<server-name>_<tool-name>)? Has this changed?
  4. Do I need to restart Cursor or perform any additional setup steps after configuring MCP servers? (This wasn’t required before)
  5. Are there any logs or debugging methods to verify that MCP servers are properly connected and their tools are being exposed?
  6. Is this a known regression that’s being tracked or fixed?

Environment:

  • OS: Windows 10 (build 26100)
  • Cursor version: 2.4.21
  • MCP server: ssh-mcp via npx

Additional Context:
This is a regression issue - SSH MCP was working perfectly before the latest Cursor update. As a senior DevOps engineer, I rely heavily on this functionality for remote server management tasks. The ability to execute commands on remote servers via MCP through the AI assistant was a critical part of my workflow, and its absence significantly impacts my productivity. This appears to be a breaking change introduced in the recent update.

Any guidance or assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Hi there!

We detected that this may be a bug report, so we’ve moved your post to the Bug Reports category.

To help us investigate and fix this faster, could you edit your original post to include the details from the template below?

Bug Report Template - Click to expand

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

  • Cursor IDE
  • Cursor CLI
  • Background Agent (GitHub, Slack, Web, Linear)
  • BugBot
  • Somewhere else…

Describe the Bug
A clear and concise description of what the bug is.


Steps to Reproduce
How can you reproduce this bug? We have a much better chance at fixing issues if we can reproduce them!


Expected Behavior
What is meant to happen here that isn’t working correctly?


Screenshots / Screen Recordings
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Operating System

  • Windows 10/11
  • MacOS
  • Linux

Version Information

  • For Cursor IDE: Menu → About Cursor → Copy
  • For Cursor CLI: Run agent about in your terminal
IDE:
Version: 2.xx.x
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: ......

CLI:
CLI Version 2026.01.17-d239e66

For AI issues: which model did you use?
Model name (e.g., Sonnet 4, Tab…)


For AI issues: add Request ID with privacy disabled
Request ID: f9a7046a-279b-47e5-ab48-6e8dc12daba1
For Background Agent issues, also post the ID: bc-…


Additional Information
Add any other context about the problem here.


Does this stop you from using Cursor?

  • Yes - Cursor is unusable
  • Sometimes - I can sometimes use Cursor
  • No - Cursor works, but with this issue

The more details you provide, the easier it is for us to reproduce and fix the issue. Thanks!

Hey, thanks for the report. This is a known issue: MCP servers connect, but the agent can’t see their tools.

There’s a main thread about the same problem here: MCP tools missing after latest Cursor update (works in 2.3.34)

A few users have already confirmed the bug there. It started in 2.3.41 and still reproduces in 2.4.21. The team is aware, and your report will help with prioritization.

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