Paperboy for Cursor
Keep the SEO work in the editor: Cursor finds the query, Paperboy writes and fact checks the article, and you review it as a file in your repo.
Set up
You will add a paperboy entry to Cursor's mcp.json with the Authorization header read from an environment variable.
In Paperboy, open Settings and create an API key. It starts with pb_live_.
Set PAPERBOY_API_KEY in your shell profile or system environment. The Cursor docs say remote servers read secrets through ${env:NAME} interpolation.
Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project for project-specific tools, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory for tools available everywhere. Paste the JSON above.
Open Customize in the sidebar and find paperboy. Make sure its toggle is on.
In chat, ask for a Paperboy tool by name or describe what you need. Cursor uses MCP tools listed under Available Tools when they are relevant.
export PAPERBOY_API_KEY=pb_live_YOUR_KEYReplace pb_live_YOUR_KEY with a key from Settings, API keys, and never commit it. The MCP docs list every client we cover.
How to tell it worked
Open Customize in the sidebar and check that paperboy is enabled. For connection errors, open the Output panel (Cmd+Shift+U) and choose MCP Logs from the dropdown.
How to remove it
Open Customize, find paperboy, and remove it. You can also delete the paperboy entry from mcp.json. To pause it without removing it, switch its toggle off in Customize.
What you get
Eight tools, the same engine as the dashboard. Reads are free. A pack is $20 for 100 credits; see how credits work.
get_sitesLists your sites with plan, publishing method and whether Search Console is connected. Every other call starts from a site id.
suggest_topicsReturns the next articles to write, each with the search data that is the reason for it.
write_articleStarts a fact-checked article and returns an id at once. The run takes a few minutes. It does not publish unless you pass publish: true.
get_articleReturns the article's status, its fact-check verdict and every source. Poll it after write_article until it reads published or needs_review.
check_claimsFact checks any public URL or pasted Markdown and returns each cited claim with the sources it was compared against.
publish_articlePublishes an article that passed the fact check to the site's publishing target. It changes the live site, so the agent should ask first.
get_performanceSearch Console clicks, impressions and average position for a site, by day and by article.
get_queriesThe queries a site, or one article, appears for in Search Console. This is where page-two keywords show up.
Try it
Plain requests. The tools each one uses are listed under it.
“Use Paperboy to find queries where this site sits on page two, then write an article for the best one and open it as a new markdown file in this repo.”
Uses get_queriessuggest_topicswrite_article
“Run check_claims on the Paperboy article I just generated and fix every flagged sentence in the open file.”
Uses get_articlecheck_claims
“Use get_sites and get_performance to tell me which of my sites gained the most clicks this month, then suggest topics for the weakest one.”
Uses get_sitesget_performancesuggest_topics
Why
Cursor reads its MCP servers from an mcp.json file, so setup is one JSON entry and one environment variable. Put it in .cursor/mcp.json for a single project or in your home folder for all of them, and keep the key out of git with the env reference.
Cursor asks before it runs an MCP tool, and you can open the arguments first. That suits Paperboy. Topic and fact-check calls are cheap to approve, and you will want to read the call before write_article spends 12 credits. The repo also ships a rules file for Cursor, listed on the skill and rules docs page.
Compare
Same engine, two ways in. Pick the one that fits how you already work.
| Feature | Dashboard | Cursor | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you work | paperboyseo.com/app: sites, calendar, fact checks | A coding agent for building ambitious software. | Cursor docs: Model Context Protocol (MCP)Read Oct 29, 2026 |
| How it connects | Sign in and paste your site address. The first article is free. | Remote MCP. Cursor supports remote Streamable HTTP and SSE servers through a url entry in mcp.json, with a headers object and ${env:NAME} interpolation in url and headers. | Cursor docs: Model Context Protocol (MCP)Read Oct 29, 2026 |
| Does it publish without asking? | Your choice: autopilot, or approve each article by email. | No. write_article defaults to publish: false, and the tool descriptions tell the agent to ask first. | MCP docsPaperboy docs |
| Fact check | Every number and cited sentence is compared with the saved text of its source. An article that fails gets one rewrite, then is held for you. | The same engine and the same check. The verdict comes back to the agent: verified, or held with the reason. | How the check worksPaperboy docs |
| What it costs | Plans from $49 a month per site. The first article is free, no card. | Credits: 12 per article, 1 per topic suggestion, 2 per fact check. $20 buys 100. | CreditsPaperboy docs |
| Search Console | Optional read-only Search Console connection. It picks topics from your impressions and reports clicks per article. | get_performance and get_queries return the same read-only data, by day, by article and by query. | Security and dataPaperboy docs |
Facts about Cursor come from the pages linked in the Source column, read on the date shown. Tools change their docs, so confirm there if a step does not match.
Honest notes
Quirks of this client that can cost you an afternoon.
Project or global file. .cursor/mcp.json applies to one project and may be committed with it, so keep the key out of it by using ${env:PAPERBOY_API_KEY}. ~/.cursor/mcp.json applies everywhere. The docs also tell you to use environment variables for secrets and never hardcode them.
Cursor asks for approval before using MCP tools by default, and you can click the arrow next to the tool name to see the arguments first. MCP follows the same Run Modes as terminal commands. In Auto-review mode, allowlisted MCP tools run immediately and everything else goes through the classifier.
envFile is for STDIO servers only. Remote servers like Paperboy cannot use it, so the key must come from ${env:NAME} (or be written in headers). On Enterprise, admins can restrict remote servers with the MCP Allowlist, and a remote URL must match an approved URL entry.
FAQ
Use .cursor/mcp.json in your project for project-specific tools, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory for tools available everywhere. Both use an mcpServers object.
Yes. Cursor lists Streamable HTTP as a supported transport, and its docs show a url entry with a headers object such as Authorization: Bearer ${env:MY_SERVICE_TOKEN}.
Open the Output panel with Cmd+Shift+U and select MCP Logs from the dropdown. The logs show server initialization, tool calls, and error messages, including authentication errors.
By default Cursor asks for approval before using MCP tools. It only runs a tool immediately if your Run Mode allows it, for example an allowlisted tool in Auto-review mode.
The tools that read cost nothing. Suggesting topics costs 1 credit, writing a fact-checked article costs 12 credits (refunded if the run fails) and a fact check on its own costs 2 credits. A pack is $20 for 100 credits.
Only if you let it. write_article defaults to publish: false, so a finished article waits for a human, and the tool descriptions tell the agent to ask before publishing. You can also give the agent a read-only key.
Sources
Everything about Cursor comes from the pages below, read on Oct 29, 2026. Tools change their docs, so check there if a step does not match. If we got something wrong, write to hello@paperboyseo.com.
Keep going
Add the MCP server, ask for a topic, and read the fact check before anything goes live.
claude mcp add --transport http paperboy https://paperboyseo.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer pb_live_..."npx @paperboyseo/cli coming soonPrefer the dashboard? Write my first article free. Prefer to run it yourself? Self-host it (repo coming soon).