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Cursor IDE Integration

Connect Precept to Cursor

Configure Cursor to query target account insights, technology stacks, and verified contact emails natively during chat or codebase composition.

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Cursor IDE MCP Integration (Local Command)

Set up Precept in Cursor in less than 2 minutes using standard local command execution.

1

Sign Up & Get Your Precept API Key

Before adding Precept to Cursor, ensure you have your Precept API key:

  1. Sign up for an account or log in at app.preceptai.co.uk.
  2. Navigate to the Developer Dashboard.
  3. Click Generate New API Key (or copy your existing key).

Copy the key to your clipboard. You will configure it as the PRECEPT_API_KEY environment variable in Step 4.

2

Open Cursor Settings

Open Cursor and navigate to settings (click the gear icon in the top right corner, or press Cmd + , on Mac / Ctrl + , on Windows). Select Features from the left sidebar and click on MCP.

3

Add Precept MCP Server

Click the + Add New MCP Server button and fill in the fields:

  • Name: precept
  • Type: command
  • Command: npx -y @preceptai/mcp-server
4

Configure Environment Variables

To authenticate with the Precept API, supply the API key you obtained in Step 1:

  • Click + Add Environment Variable
  • Name: PRECEPT_API_KEY
  • Value: YOUR_PRECEPT_API_KEY

Click Save to complete the installation. Cursor will automatically start the server.

✓

Verify and Query

Once the server status shows a green dot or indicates active status in Settings:

Open Cursor Chat or Composer (Cmd + L or Cmd + I) and prompt the assistant:
"Find marketing decision-makers at Stripe using Precept"

Cursor Updates

Updating Precept in Cursor

When new tool capabilities or parameters are added, ensure your Cursor configuration always pulls the latest release:

Ensure @latest Tag is Used

In Cursor Settings → Features → MCP, check that your Precept command specifies @latest:

npx -y @preceptai/mcp-server@latest
💡 Tip: If Cursor appears to be using an older schema, simply restart Cursor or run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P) to force npx to fetch the updated tools.

Available Tools

The Precept MCP server gives Cursor 13 tools. Each one is labelled Read-only (only looks things up), Uses credits (spends Precept credits but changes nothing else), or Takes action (creates, changes or deletes something in your account, or acts on LinkedIn for you). Credit costs are starting prices. Options like phone numbers cost more; see pricing for full rates.

Lead discovery

precept_search_leadsUses credits

Finds people who match a description of your ideal customer, such as job title, industry, company size and location. Can also add AI insights, verified emails and phone numbers, or a filter for people who recently engaged with posts on a topic.

Credits: From 0.1 per lead

precept_get_leads_from_post_searchUses credits

Finds people who recently wrote LinkedIn posts on given keywords, in the past 24 hours, week or month. Each result includes the post they wrote.

Credits: From 5.1 per lead

precept_enrich_leadsUses credits

Adds detail to contacts you already have, identified by LinkedIn URL or name and company: verified email and phone, professional summary, likely problems and initiatives. Can also draft a personalised email or LinkedIn message.

Credits: From 1 per lead

Company intelligence

precept_search_companiesUses credits

Finds companies from a plain-language description, for example “SaaS companies in London with 50–200 employees”. Can add decision makers, tech stack, revenue, funding, headcount by department, and answers to your own questions about each company.

Credits: From 1 per company

precept_get_company_insightsUses credits

Returns the same insights for companies you name by website or LinkedIn URL.

Credits: From 1 per company

Monitoring

precept_job_posting_subscriptionsTakes action

Creates, views, updates, lists and deletes recurring checks (every 7–30 days) for new job postings at chosen companies or matching a description, and finds decision makers at the hiring companies.

Credits: 0.5 per new decision maker found

precept_lead_subscriptionsTakes action

Creates, views, updates, lists and deletes recurring checks on specific people, by LinkedIn URL, for job changes, title changes and new posts. Up to 150 people per organisation.

Credits: See pricing

LinkedIn outreach (requires the Precept Chrome extension)

precept_campaign_queueTakes action

Queues LinkedIn connection campaigns to a list of leads, and shows, pauses, resumes, archives or removes them. Campaigns run one at a time, through the Precept extension in your own Chrome browser.

Credits: See pricing

precept_linkedin_messagesTakes action

Sends one LinkedIn message (or a connection note if you aren't connected yet) to one person from your LinkedIn account, and checks whether it was delivered.

Credits: See pricing

precept_get_extension_statusRead-only

Checks whether the Precept Chrome extension is installed and active, and which version is running.

Credits: None

Account and jobs

precept_check_creditsRead-only

Shows your remaining Precept credit balance.

Credits: None

precept_get_job_statusRead-only

Searches and enrichments run in the background. This checks a job's progress and returns its results when it finishes.

Credits: None

precept_check_versionRead-only

Checks whether your connection is using the latest version of the Precept server.

Credits: None

Data & Permissions

What Cursor can see and do once Precept is connected, what Precept receives, and how to disconnect.

What Cursor can access

  • Cursor acts as the Precept account whose API key you used to connect. With an organisation key, it uses that organisation’s credits and data.
  • It can read your credit balance, search and enrichment results, subscriptions, campaign queue and message delivery status.
  • Lead and company results come from Precept’s database of business profiles and public company information. They don’t come from your private LinkedIn data.

What Cursor can do for you

  • Spend Precept credits on searches and enrichments.
  • Create, change and delete job-posting and lead subscriptions.
  • Save lead lists to your Precept dashboard, and queue, pause or archive LinkedIn campaigns.
  • Send LinkedIn messages and connection requests from your LinkedIn account. This only works if you’ve installed the Precept Chrome extension and are signed in to LinkedIn in Chrome.
  • Send results to a webhook URL, but only if you give one.

What Precept receives

  • Only what Cursor puts in each tool call, such as search descriptions, LinkedIn URLs, company websites and message text.
  • Precept doesn’t receive your conversation history, files, or data from your other tools.
  • Precept stores searches, results, subscriptions and campaigns in your Precept account, as described in our privacy policy.

How sign-in works

  • The @preceptai/mcp-server package runs on your own machine. It reads your API key from the PRECEPT_API_KEY environment variable.
  • It sends the key only to Precept’s API (api.preceptai.co.uk), over HTTPS, as a Bearer token.
  • Keep the key out of source control. Use an environment variable or a secrets manager rather than writing it into shared config files.

Staying in control

Cursor asks before running MCP tools unless you turn on auto-run. If you use auto-run, keep in mind that the Takes action tools (messaging, campaigns and subscriptions) change your account or act on LinkedIn. Check your balance at any time with precept_check_credits.

Disconnecting

  1. In Cursor, open Settings → Features → MCP and disable or delete the Precept server.
  2. To cancel all existing access straight away, regenerate your API key on the Precept developer page. Anything using the old key stops working.
  3. To stop all LinkedIn activity, remove the Precept Chrome extension or archive your campaigns.