Remote URL/SSE MCP still broken for agent (~12 months) + workaround

[louspringer]

Where does the bug appear (feature/product)?

Cursor IDE

Describe the Bug

Cursor’s docs say we can add remote MCP servers with a URL (e.g. https://mcp.example.com/sse). In practice, remote URL/SSE MCPs do not work for the agent: the server may connect but Cursor does not enable it for the agent (“Server not approved, disabling”), and/or tools/call is never sent. First reported 2025-03-17. As of 2026-03-15 that’s ~12 months with no public fix; the original thread was auto-closed after 30 days with no resolution.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Add to .cursor/mcp.json: “neo4j-memory”: { “url”: “https://your-mcp-server/sse” }
2. Run an MCP server that supports Streamable HTTP or SSE (e.g. on /mcp or /sse)
3. Open agent chat — the remote MCP’s tools are not available to the agent (isServerEnabled false, or tools/call never sent)

Workaround we use: proxy that forwards /sse and /mcp to the same backend so Cursor hits the path it expects. Fixes path only; does not fix Cursor’s refusal to enable URL MCPs for the agent.

Expected Behavior

Remote URL MCP servers should be available to the agent like command-based (stdio) MCPs. Agent should be able to list and call tools from the remote server.

Operating System

Linux

Version Information

Multiple Cursor versions over ~12 months; original report 2025-03-17. Please paste your About Cursor if needed.

Additional Information

Related forum threads (same class of issue): 2025-03-17 topic 65224 (Cursor 0.47.5 not able to call Remote MCP server SSE endpoint — auto-closed); 2025-04 topic 83102; 2025-08 topic 131002; 2025-11–2026-02 topic 143482. Service remains available to other clients on /mcp and /sse; only Cursor’s agent does not get the tools.

Does this stop you from using Cursor

No - Cursor works, but with this issue

[deanrie]

Hey, thanks for the detailed report and for linking the previous threads.

This is a known bug. It’s a regression in the V2 MCP connection handler. Cursor tries Streamable HTTP POST, and when an SSE-only server returns 404, the fallback to SSE doesn’t trigger. More details here: Cursor fails to fall back from Streamable HTTP to SSE transport for remote MCP servers

The team is aware, and your report helps with prioritization. There’s no ETA yet.

For a workaround, mcp-remote gets around this by forwarding SSE over stdio:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "neo4j-memory": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote", "https://your-mcp-server/sse"]
    }
  }
}

About “Server not approved, disabling”, that’s not a bug, it’s a security feature. Servers in the project .cursor/mcp.json need manual approval in Cursor Settings > MCP. If you want to avoid that step, move the config to the global ~/.cursor/mcp.json.

Let me know if you need anything else.

[louspringer]

@deanrie

Let me know if you need anything else.

same same