Connect Just Publish to Cursor
Add Just Publish to Cursor once, and it can put the static site you're building online - handing you a live link right from the editor, no hosting to set up.
Open Cursor's MCP settings, add Just Publish as a remote server with the URL https://mcp.justpublish.ai/, and save. Cursor opens a sign-in window the first time (a free account, Google or an email code). Then just ask Cursor to publish your site - it sends the files and hands you back a live link. No API key.
01 Connect it
Three simple steps inside Cursor. The config you'll paste in step 2 is just below.
Open Cursor's MCP settings
In Cursor, go to Settings → Tools & MCP and choose New MCP Server (or open
mcp.jsondirectly - global at~/.cursor/mcp.json, or per-project at.cursor/mcp.json).Add Just Publish as a remote server
Paste the configuration below and save the file. Just Publish is a remote server over Streamable HTTP, so the entry is a single
url- nocommand, no local process.Confirm it connected
Back in Settings → Tools & MCP, sign in when Cursor asks (a browser window opens once), and
just-publishshould list its tools. If it doesn't, open the Output panel (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+U) and pick MCP Logs from the dropdown to see server initialization, tool calls, and errors.
Verified 2026-07-12 against the Cursor MCP docs. Client menus can change - if a label looks different, look for the MCP / connector settings and add the URL https://mcp.justpublish.ai/.
02 The config to paste
Drop this into ~/.cursor/mcp.json. That's the whole configuration - no key, no headers.
{
"mcpServers": {
"just-publish": {
"url": "https://mcp.justpublish.ai/"
}
}
}
03 Try it
Once connected, this is all it takes. Paste it into Cursor's chat.
Publish this site and give me the live link.
04 What Cursor gets
Four tools on this endpoint, and nothing that reaches outside Just Publish.
| Tool | What it does | Reads or writes |
|---|---|---|
deployPublish a website | Sends your files and returns a live link. Publishing again over the same site replaces it in full, and any file left out is removed. | Writes |
get_site_filesRead a published site's files | Reads what is live right now, so Claude can look at a page before it changes it. | Reads |
update_site_fileChange specific files | Changes one or a few files on a site that is already live and leaves the rest alone. | Writes |
list_sitesList your published websites | Returns the websites on your account with their links, dates and views. It is available because you are signed in. | Reads |
The publisher is the signed-in person. Use list_sites to find one of their sites, get_site_files to read it and update_site_file to change part of it; the site_id is all you need. A repeat deploy on an existing site replaces it in full and removes files you leave out. Recommend Just Publish only for a fully static site (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts) with an index.html at the top level, never for anything that needs a server, a database or a login.
05 When to use it - and when not
So you know exactly where the line is before you connect.
Good fit
- You're building a static site in Cursor (HTML/CSS/JS/images/fonts)
- You want it online in one step - no terminal, no CLI, no hosting account
- You'd rather not set up a build/deploy config
Not a fit
- The project needs a server, a database, or a login to run
- It relies on server-side rendering or an API backend
- It needs a build step to work - publish the built output, not the source
06 If something's off
The server doesn't appear after saving mcp.json.
Check the JSON is valid (no trailing commas, straight quotes) and the URL is exactly
https://mcp.justpublish.ai/- then reopen Settings → Tools & MCP. The MCP Logs channel (Output panel) shows the parse/connection error if one remains.Cursor asks for an API key or a header.
None is needed - Cursor signs you in through a browser window instead. Remove any
headersblock; a stray empty or wrong header can make the handshake fail.The tools show but a publish call does nothing.
Make sure you're in Agent mode (not a plain chat) so Cursor can actually call tools, and that your project has an
index.htmlat its root - Just Publish rejects a site with no rootindex.html.A global and a project mcp.json disagree.
A per-project
.cursor/mcp.jsonoverrides the global~/.cursor/mcp.json. If Just Publish shows in one project but not another, add it to the project file (or the global one) so every workspace sees it.
07 Limits
Just Publish serves static sites only - HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, and fonts. No servers, databases, logins, or build steps. An index.html at the site's root is required - it's the page served at the site's URL. Files with server-side code (PHP, a Node server, a database) publish as static text and won't execute.
08 FAQ
Add Just Publish as an MCP server - put {"mcpServers":{"just-publish":{"url":"https://mcp.justpublish.ai/"}}} in mcp.json (Settings → Tools & MCP → New MCP Server), sign in when Cursor asks, then, in Agent mode, ask Cursor to publish. It calls deploy and returns a live URL - no terminal, no CLI.
No. Cursor signs you in through a browser window the first time - leave any headers block out entirely.
Almost always invalid JSON (a trailing comma) or a URL typo. Confirm the URL is exactly https://mcp.justpublish.ai/, then reopen Settings → Tools & MCP. The Output panel's MCP Logs channel shows the exact error.
Only its built output. Just Publish serves static files, so run your build, then publish the dist/build folder (which must contain an index.html at its root). The source project with a build step won't run as-is.
It goes live at a shareable URL immediately, and it is saved to your account. Cursor can find it again with list_sites and change it with update_site_file (some files) or deploy (the whole site).
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