Cursor connects to the Trends API MCP server through one mcp.json block. The server is remote, so the block holds a URL and a header, and no package gets installed. After a restart, the editor lists three tools: get_time_series, get_growth, and get_top_trends. The key in the header is the same product key as POST https://api.trendsapi.ai/api. Server-level detail sits on MCP server setup.
The config block
Add this entry in Cursor's MCP settings, or merge it into the mcp.json Cursor already reads:
{
"mcpServers": {
"trends-api": {
"url": "https://api.trendsapi.ai/mcp",
"headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"}
}
}
}
Keep the header value as one string. Extra quotes inside it read as part of the token and produce a 401. A project-level file scopes the key to one repo; a user-level file makes the tools available in every window. Auth behaviour matches REST and is covered on authentication.
Ask from the chat panel
"Show 12 month growth for passkeys on google search" maps to get_growth with source google search. "What is trending on GitHub today" maps to get_top_trends with type GitHub. Keyword work takes a source string. Boards take a type label. The two lists sit on the sources reference.
The editor context is the reason to wire this host at all. A growth figure can be checked against the feature branch on screen, pasted into a pull request description, or dropped into a planning doc without a browser tab and a CSV in between.
Editor versus script
Anything on a timer belongs on REST. Cursor is a question surface: a person asks, reads the ranked list or the percent, and decides. Only successful 200 responses count against quota; caps sit on pricing. The hosted-chat version of this setup sits on ChatGPT Trends MCP, and the Claude Desktop version on Claude Trends MCP.