Cursor

Cursor is built on Code-OSS, so the CodeAtlas VSIX installs the same way as in VS Code. The interesting part: Cursor's AI chat can also pick up the MCP server that ships inside the VSIX — no extra install.

Install the VSIX

Cursor cannot search the Microsoft Marketplace, so install from Open VSX (Cursor's default extension registry) or sideload the VSIX directly.

Option A — search Open VSX from inside Cursor

  1. Open the Extensions view (⌘ ⇧ X).
  2. Search for CodeAtlas-Live and hit Install. Cursor pulls it from Open VSX automatically.
  3. Open a workspace; visit http://localhost:7742.

Option B — sideload the VSIX

  1. Download the VSIX from open-vsx.org/extension/codeatlaslive/codeatlas-live — click the Download button.
  2. In Cursor: ⌘ ⇧ P → Extensions: Install from VSIX… → select the file.
  3. Quit and reopen Cursor.
Why Open VSX?
Cursor (and most Code-OSS forks) cannot legally proxy the Microsoft Marketplace, so they ship with Open VSX as the default registry. CodeAtlas publishes to both — same VSIX, same publisher.

Wire the bundled MCP into Cursor chat

The same VSIX you just installed contains the MCP server binary. You can point Cursor's Composer / chat at it so it gains 25 tools that expose live architecture.

Step 1 — find the binary path

Locate dist/mcp-server.js inside the installed VSIXbash
# macOS / Linux
ls ~/.cursor/extensions/codeatlaslive.codeatlas-live-*/dist/mcp-server.js

# Windows
dir %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\extensions\codeatlaslive.codeatlas-live-*\dist\mcp-server.js

Step 2 — add it to Cursor's MCP config

Settings → MCP → + Add new MCP server. Or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly:

~/.cursor/mcp.jsonjson
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "codeatlas": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/Users/you/.cursor/extensions/codeatlaslive.codeatlas-live-5.0.0/dist/mcp-server.js",
        "/absolute/path/to/your/workspace"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Absolute paths only
Cursor spawns MCP processes from its own working directory, so both thecommand/args[0] and the workspace argument must be absolute paths. $(pwd) doesn't expand here.

Step 3 — verify

  1. Reload Cursor.
  2. Open the MCP panel — codeatlas should show as connected with 25 tools.
  3. In Composer, ask: "List the HTTP routes in this repo using the codeatlas tools." The model will call list_entrypoints and return a structured list.

Or: use the npm package instead

If you'd rather not depend on the VSIX path (e.g., the extension auto-updates and the version number changes), point Cursor at the published npm package — the dependency tree is the same. See the MCP-in-Cursor guide.

Concurrency: VS Code & Cursor on the same repo

Don't open the same workspace in both editors at once. They'll fight for the write-lock at .codeatlas/.mcp-owner. Use one or the other for a given checkout.

Troubleshooting

"command not found: node" in Cursor MCP logs

Cursor spawns MCP children with a sparse PATH. Either install Node via Homebrew / official installer so it lives in /usr/local/bin/node, or write out the absolute Node path as command.

VSIX path keeps changing on every release

Use a symlink so the MCP config never has to change:

Stable symlink to the latest installed extensionbash
ln -sfn ~/.cursor/extensions/codeatlaslive.codeatlas-live-*/dist/mcp-server.js \
        ~/.local/bin/codeatlas-mcp.js

Then in mcp.json: "args": ["~/.local/bin/codeatlas-mcp.js", "/path/to/repo"].