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Cursor Integration

This guide shows how to use Tollgate with Cursor IDE to add policy-based access control to MCP servers.

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Prerequisites

  • Cursor installed
  • Node.js 20+ installed
  • @dotsetlabs/cli installed globally: 
    npm install -g @dotsetlabs/cli

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Quick Start

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1. Open Cursor Settings

Open Cursor’s MCP configuration:
  1. Open Cursor
  2. Go to Settings (Cmd+, on macOS)
  3. Search for “MCP” or navigate to MCP server settings

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2. Configure with Tollgate

Instead of configuring the MCP server directly, wrap it with Tollgate. Direct connection (without Tollgate): 
{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"],
  "env": {
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/mydb"
  }
}
With Tollgate protection: 
{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y", "@dotsetlabs/cli", "tollgate", "wrap",
    "-d", "prompt",
    "npx", "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres"
  ],
  "env": {
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/mydb"
  }
}

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3. Restart Cursor

Restart Cursor to apply the configuration.

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Using Configuration Files

For more control, use a Tollgate config file:

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1. Create Config

dotset tollgate init -o ~/cursor-tollgate.yaml

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2. Configure Cursor

{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y", "@dotsetlabs/cli", "tollgate", "start",
    "-s", "postgres",
    "-c", "/Users/yourname/cursor-tollgate.yaml"
  ],
  "env": {
    "DATABASE_URL": "postgres://localhost/mydb"
  }
}

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Filesystem Server Example

Protect the filesystem server commonly used with Cursor:

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Quick Protection

{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y", "@dotsetlabs/cli", "tollgate", "wrap",
    "-d", "prompt",
    "npx", "-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "./"
  ]
}

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With Policy File

Create ~/cursor-tollgate.yaml: 
version: "1"

servers:
  filesystem:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "./"]
    tools:
      # Allow all read operations
      "read_*":
        action: allow
      "list_*":
        action: allow
      "search_*":
        action: allow
      # Prompt for writes
      "write_*":
        action: prompt
        session:
          enabled: true
          duration: "15m"
      "create_*":
        action: prompt
      # Block deletes
      "delete_*":
        action: deny
        reason: "File deletion requires explicit confirmation"
Configure in Cursor: 
{
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y", "@dotsetlabs/cli", "tollgate", "start",
    "-s", "filesystem",
    "-c", "/Users/yourname/cursor-tollgate.yaml"
  ]
}

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Multiple Servers

Configure multiple protected servers: 
# ~/cursor-tollgate.yaml
version: "1"

defaults:
  action: prompt

servers:
  filesystem:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@anthropic/mcp-server-filesystem", "./"]
    tools:
      "read_*": { action: allow }
      "write_*": { action: prompt }
      "*": { action: deny }

  github:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"]
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: "${GITHUB_TOKEN}"
    tools:
      "get_*": { action: allow }
      "list_*": { action: allow }
      "create_*": { action: prompt }
      "update_*": { action: prompt }
      "delete_*": { action: deny }

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Development Workflow

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Balanced Policy for Development

servers:
  filesystem:
    tools:
      # Allow reads freely
      "read_*": { action: allow }
      "list_*": { action: allow }

      # Prompt for writes, but remember for session
      "write_*":
        action: prompt
        session:
          enabled: true
          duration: "30m"

      # Block dangerous operations
      "delete_*": { action: deny }
This allows Claude to read freely, prompts for writes (with session memory), and blocks deletions.

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Troubleshooting

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Approval prompts not visible

Tollgate approval prompts appear in the terminal. When using Cursor:
  1. Open Cursor’s integrated terminal
  2. Or keep a separate terminal window open

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Configuration not loading

  1. Use absolute paths in Cursor config
  2. Validate config: dotset tollgate validate -c ~/cursor-tollgate.yaml

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Server crashes

Check logs: 
dotset tollgate logs -n 20