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The AtomicMemory Cursor integration wires persistent semantic memory into Cursor through two files: a .cursor/mcp.json configuration that registers the AtomicMemory MCP server, and a .cursor/rules/atomicmemory.mdc project rule that tells the Cursor agent when to call the memory tools. Once in place, the agent can search prior context, store durable decisions, and carry knowledge across sessions — all without any changes to your code.
Cursor support is available today as a manual local integration. Copy the MCP config and project rule template into your Cursor project or global Cursor MCP config. A packaged Cursor plugin and Cursor Cloud deployment are planned but not yet available.

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What’s included

The plugin directory ships two template files you copy into your project:

.cursor/mcp.json

Registers the atomicmemory MCP server so Cursor can spawn it and expose its tools to the agent.

.cursor/rules/atomicmemory.mdc

An always-on Cursor rule that describes the AtomicMemory memory protocol — when to search, when to store, and how to treat retrieved memories.

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Configure environment

Set these variables in your shell before launching Cursor. Cursor resolves ${env:...} placeholders in the MCP config from the environment at startup time. 
export ATOMICMEMORY_API_URL="https://memory.yourco.com"
export ATOMICMEMORY_API_KEY="am_live_..."
export ATOMICMEMORY_PROVIDER="atomicmemory"
export ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_USER="$USER"
export ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_AGENT="cursor"
export ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_NAMESPACE="repo-or-project"
ATOMICMEMORY_API_URL, ATOMICMEMORY_API_KEY, and ATOMICMEMORY_PROVIDER are required. At least one ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_* variable must be set — ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_USER is the standard baseline.
Environment variables must be visible to the Cursor process itself, not just your terminal session. On macOS, launch Cursor from the same shell where you exported these variables, or add them to your shell’s startup file and restart Cursor.

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Install

Install the integration for a single Cursor project by copying both template files into the project root.
1

Create the .cursor directories

mkdir -p .cursor/rules
2

Copy the MCP config

Copy .cursor/mcp.json from the plugin directory into your project:
cp /path/to/atomicmemory/plugins/cursor/.cursor/mcp.json .cursor/mcp.json
If your project already has a .cursor/mcp.json, merge the atomicmemory server entry into the existing mcpServers object — do not replace the whole file.
3

Copy the project rule

cp /path/to/atomicmemory/plugins/cursor/.cursor/rules/atomicmemory.mdc .cursor/rules/atomicmemory.mdc
4

Restart Cursor

Restart Cursor after changing MCP config or environment variables. The MCP server will not be available in the current session until Cursor restarts.

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Verify

After restarting Cursor, confirm the MCP server is running and all tools are available.
1

Check server status in Settings

Open Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP and confirm the atomicmemory server shows as enabled.
2

List tools from the CLI

If you have the Cursor CLI available, you can verify the exposed tools directly:
cursor-agent mcp list
cursor-agent mcp list-tools atomicmemory
You should see four tools: memory_search, memory_ingest, memory_package, and memory_list.

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Troubleshooting

Restart Cursor fully — a partial restart may not reload the MCP server configuration. Also verify that Cursor can resolve and run the MCP server binary:
npx -y @atomicmemory/mcp-server
If this fails, check your Node.js installation and network access to the npm registry.
At least one ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_* variable must be set. Export ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_USER as a minimum:
export ATOMICMEMORY_SCOPE_USER="$USER"
Then restart Cursor so the MCP server picks up the new environment.
Verify that ATOMICMEMORY_API_URL, ATOMICMEMORY_API_KEY, and ATOMICMEMORY_PROVIDER are all set and visible to the Cursor process. On macOS, environment variables set in a terminal are not automatically inherited by GUI applications — launch Cursor from the same terminal session, or persist the variables in your shell startup file (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, etc.).
Restore your previous file from version control or a backup, then manually merge only the mcpServers.atomicmemory entry from the AtomicMemory template. The MCP config is a JSON object — add the atomicmemory key under mcpServers alongside any existing server entries.