Setting Up the Codehabits MCP Server in Cursor (5 Minutes)

The Codehabits MCP server gives Cursor eight tools that read from .codehabits/ in your repo — convention lookup, code validation, domain knowledge, reviewer suggestions, heuristic repo map navigation, and a feedback loop for updating conventions. It is listed on the official MCP Registry as io.github.codehabits-dev/codehabits-mcp. Setup takes about five minutes if you already ran codehabits enable.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• .codehabits/meta.json in your repo (from npx @codehabits/cli enable)
• Cursor with MCP support enabled

Step 1: Install the MCP server

From your repository root:

npx @codehabits/cli mcp-install

This writes to .cursor/mcp.json. Commit it so teammates get the same config:

git add .cursor/mcp.json
git commit -m "chore: add codehabits MCP server"
git push

Step 2: Restart Cursor

MCP servers load at startup. Fully quit and reopen Cursor (or reload the window) before testing tools.

Step 3: Verify tools appear

Open Cursor Agent and check that the codehabits MCP server is connected. You should see these tools:

• get_team_context — conventions and anti-patterns
• check_code — validate a snippet against team rules
• get_knowledge — domain knowledge by topic
• suggest_reviewers — expertise-based reviewer routing
• get_repo_map — heuristic packages, entrypoints, hot files
• get_change_routes — dirs/files that often change together
• record_feedback / approve_proposal — propose and merge convention updates

Full reference: MCP server documentation.

Step 4: Use it in practice

Try these prompts in Cursor Agent:

• "Use get_team_context for the api scope before writing this endpoint."
• "Run check_code on this handler before I commit."
• "Who should review changes to files under src/auth/? Use suggest_reviewers."
• "Call get_repo_map before exploring this monorepo — don't dump the whole tree."
• "What usually changes with packages/cli? Use get_change_routes."

MCP vs Agent Skills

Agent Skills load passively when Cursor starts a task. MCP tools are explicit lookups — use them when you need validation or knowledge mid-task. Most teams enable both: skills for baseline context, MCP for active checks.

One-prompt onboarding

The /agents page has a bootstrap prompt that runs enable, mcp-install, and reads your intelligence files in one shot. Paste it when onboarding a new repo or teammate.

Troubleshooting

If tools return "No intelligence data available," confirm .codehabits/ exists and the MCP server's working directory is your repo root. Run codehabits enable if files are missing.