GuidesTechnology

How to use Cursor with Fabapp AI

Figures from September 17, 2026

Connecting Cursor to your account

Cursor reads MCP configuration from a file inside the project, and that is its advantage here:

{ "mcpServers": { "fabapp": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@fabappai/cli", "mcp"] } } }

Put that in .cursor/mcp.json and the configuration travels with the repository. Whoever clones the project and opens it in Cursor finds Fabapp already connected, with no manual step and no README explaining what to set up. To have it in every project instead, the same block goes in the equivalent file in your home folder.

Once saved, Cursor's MCP panel lists the available tools. That list is your connection test, and its length tells you something: a read-only credential shows fewer, because the write tools are not offered.

What you need

Node 20 or newer, a Fabapp account on the Builder plan or above, and a single login:

npx @fabappai/cli login

The credential goes into the system keychain. It is never displayed, and it is revoked from one place, in the panel.

The loop

npx @fabappai/cli create "My store"
npx @fabappai/cli dev

dev assembles the app on your machine on the same template the platform publishes with, installs the dependencies and starts the local server. With it running, ask for what you would do by hand: read the definition, create the entities, write the screens. Then:

npx @fabappai/cli deploy

It uploads what you changed and publishes, in that order. Publishing before uploading would publish what is on the server, and your work would be left behind.

What is different about Cursor

Cursor is an editor, not a terminal, and that changes the rhythm. dev runs in the integrated terminal while you talk in the side panel, and the files the assistant writes show up as a diff you accept or reject. For anyone who reviews what the AI writes, that is the practical difference against a terminal assistant.

Two things to know: the per-project file is what makes the configuration travel with the repository, so it is worth committing; and the MCP panel is where you find out the connection dropped, rather than finding out through the assistant claiming the tool does not exist.

What to ask for

"Read the platform documentation before writing the schema." The field types are a closed list and anything else is refused; the access rules are the only thing between an app's data and the public.

"Read the current definition before changing it." Without the schema at hand, a wrong model id answers 404 and an invented field answers 422.

"Schema first, screens after." The SDK is generated against the data model.

Frequently asked questions

Should I commit `.cursor/mcp.json`?
You do not have to, but it is what makes the configuration travel with the repository: whoever clones and opens it in Cursor finds Fabapp connected. The file holds no secret, only the command; the credential stays in each person's own keychain.
Does Cursor see my app running?
It sees the files and the project definition. The running app is `dev` in the integrated terminal, and you watch it in the browser like any local app.
Can I use it with a project that already exists?
Yes. Run `npx @fabappai/cli link <project-id>` in the folder, then `pull` to bring the definition to disk.
Start building for free
Read next
Command line and MCP in app builders: what changes when the project leaves the browserBest AI app builders in 2026