Connect Cursor to Mangobeds with MCP

Cursor speaks the Model Context Protocol, so it can read your live Mangobeds data and answer questions about it without you leaving the editor. This guide is the short version for Cursor specifically. If you want the background on MCP, or you use a different tool, start with Connect Mangobeds to AI tools with MCP.

Cursor runs on your own computer and can send a header with each request, so it uses your API key rather than signing in.

Before you start

In Mangobeds, go to Apps > MCP and pick Cursor. The snippet shown there already has your API key in it, so copying from that page saves you filling anything in. Everything below uses a placeholder instead.

Add the server

Cursor reads MCP servers from a file called mcp.json. You can add Mangobeds for every project, or for one:

• For every project: ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home folder.
• For one project: .cursor/mcp.json in that project’s root folder.

Add this, replacing the placeholder with your own key, then reload Cursor:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mangobeds": {
      "url": "https://api.mangobeds.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then ask Cursor “what properties do I have in Mangobeds?” to check it works. It should answer without you giving it any IDs.

Two things that catch people out

• If mcp.json already exists, merge, do not append. Add “mangobeds” inside the mcpServers object you already have. Two separate mcpServers blocks make the file invalid JSON and Cursor will silently load none of your servers.
• A project file holds your key. .cursor/mcp.json lives inside your repository, so add it to .gitignore or your API key ends up committed. Use the home folder version if you would rather not think about it.

On Windows

The file above is fine on Windows, because the key sits in its own JSON field rather than in a command line. The Windows spacing problem only affects setups that pass –header “X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY” as a command argument, which this does not. If you have followed an older guide that used that form and it fails to authenticate, switch to the file above.

What you can ask

Cursor can list your properties itself, then answer from your live data: bookings and who is checking in, availability, why a room is blocked on a date, what a room costs on a given day, your seasonal rates, and your guests. With permission it can also correct a guest’s details, add a guest to a booking, and send one of your saved messages.

An API key carries every permission, so a connection made this way can do all of it. If you would rather grant read-only access, use Claude in the browser instead, which asks you to tick what it may do. The full picture is in the main MCP guide.

If it does not connect

• Check the JSON is valid. A stray comma or a duplicated mcpServers block stops Cursor loading the file at all.
• Reload Cursor. It reads mcp.json at startup, so changes need a reload.
• Check the key. Copy it again from Apps > MCP. If it was deleted and regenerated, the old one stops working immediately.
• Start a new chat. Cursor picks up the available tools when a conversation starts, so an older chat may still be working from a previous set.