Salesforce MCP in Cursor: setup

Before you start

You need:

1. Cursor, with Agent mode available in chat.
2. Node.js 20 or later. Check with node --version.
3. The Salesforce CLI, logged in to your org. Check with sf org list. If needed, run sf org login web --alias my-org.
4. A Salesforce DX project for that org, open in Cursor.

Set it up

1. Build the local copy of your org’s metadata. From your project folder, run:

   Terminal

   npx -y sf-intelligence init --target-org my-org
   npx -y sf-intelligence refresh --target-org my-org
   

   This retrieves metadata with the Salesforce CLI and stores it in an org-kb folder in your project. It reads only. Nothing is written to the org.

2. Create .cursor/mcp.json in the project and paste:

   JSON

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "sf-intelligence": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": ["-y", "sf-intelligence", "mcp", "--vault", "/full/path/to/your-project/org-kb"]
       }
     }
   }
   

   Replace the path with the full path to your org-kb folder. Keep --vault. Without it, the server looks for org-kb in whatever folder it was started from, which may not be your project. If the file already lists other servers, add this entry inside the existing mcpServers block.

   Cursor’s MCP documentation also lets you write ${workspaceFolder}/org-kb in args instead of a full path. ${workspaceFolder} is the folder that contains .cursor/mcp.json.

3. Reload the server. Cursor does not pick up changes to .cursor/mcp.json by itself. Turn the server off and on in Cursor’s MCP settings (in recent versions, under Customize in the sidebar; in older versions, Settings → MCP), or restart Cursor.

4. Ask a question. Open chat in Agent mode and ask, for example: “What happens when I save an Opportunity?” The answer should name the triggers, flows and rules it found. Cursor asks for your approval before it runs a tool, unless you change that setting.

If you only see setup_status

That is setup mode, not a failure. The server started but did not find your metadata. Ask: “What do you need from me?” The tool reports where it looked and which command to run. Usually step 1 was skipped, or --vault points to the wrong folder. Reload the server after fixing it.

Every project, not just this one

To make the server available in all your projects, put the same block in ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home folder. Use a full --vault path there. One server reads one org’s metadata folder, so for a second org, add a second entry with its own name and path.

Windows notes

Still stuck? Run npx -y sf-intelligence doctor in your project. It checks Node, the Salesforce CLI, the metadata folder and org login, and prints a fix for each problem.

Try it on the demo org

No Salesforce org or CLI login needed. Add this to .cursor/mcp.json in any folder, then reload the server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sf-intelligence-demo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sf-intelligence", "demo"]
    }
  }
}

The first start downloads the package and builds the demo, so it takes a little longer. Then ask: “Can I delete the Amount field on Invoice?”

Using VS Code instead? It reads a different key. See Salesforce MCP in VS Code + Copilot.