Cursor & Claude Think MCP

This MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool enables Claude’s explicit thinking mode in Cursor, allowing you to see Claude’s step-by-step reasoning process.

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14.0.0 or higher)
• Cursor (v0.9.0 or higher)
• Basic knowledge of terminal commands

How It Works

When you type “think [your question]” in Cursor’s chat, Claude will:

1. Enter an explicit reasoning mode
2. Show its step-by-step thinking process
3. Provide a final answer after the reasoning section

Installation

Project-Level Installation (Current Project Only)

The tool is already installed for this project. The configuration is in .cursor/mcp.json.

Global Installation (All Projects)

To make this tool available in all your Cursor projects:

1. Create the directory for global MCP configuration:

   mkdir -p ~/.cursor
   

2. Copy the tool and configuration:

   # Create the destination directory
   mkdir -p ~/claude-think-tool
   
   # Copy the tool
   cp src/think-tool.js ~/claude-think-tool/
   
   # Make it executable
   chmod +x ~/claude-think-tool/think-tool.js
   
   # Create the global MCP configuration with absolute path (more reliable)
   echo "{"mcpServers":{"claude-think-tool":{"command":"node","args":["$HOME/claude-think-tool/think-tool.js"]}}}" > ~/.cursor/mcp.json
   

3. Restart Cursor to apply the changes (required)

Windows Installation

For Windows users:

1. Create the Cursor configuration directory:

   mkdir -p $env:USERPROFILE.cursor
   

2. Copy the tool:

   mkdir -p $env:USERPROFILEclaude-think-tool
   copy srcthink-tool.js $env:USERPROFILEclaude-think-tool
   

3. Create the global MCP configuration:

   echo "{"mcpServers":{"claude-think-tool":{"command":"node","args":["$env:USERPROFILE\claude-think-tool\think-tool.js"]}}}" > $env:USERPROFILE.cursormcp.json
   

4. Restart Cursor to apply the changes (required)

Usage

In any Cursor chat, simply type:

think What is the computational complexity of quicksort?

Important Usage Notes:

• The word “think” must be at the beginning of your message followed by a space
• Everything after "think " will be processed by Claude in its special thinking mode
• The tool will not activate if “think” appears elsewhere in your message
• No formatting or special characters are needed - just start with "think "

Examples

See the examples directory for sample use cases:

• Complex problem solving
• Mathematical proofs
• Decision making processes
• Code algorithm analysis

Troubleshooting

If the tool doesn’t appear to be working:

1. Make sure Cursor has been restarted after installation
2. Check that Node.js is installed by running node --version in your terminal
3. Verify that the path in the MCP configuration is correct and points to the script
4. Ensure the script is executable (chmod +x on Unix systems)
5. Look for any errors in the Cursor Developer Console

For Windows users, ensure PowerShell or CMD is running with appropriate permissions.

How It Works Technically

This tool uses the Model Context Protocol to:

1. Intercept when you type “think” in the chat
2. Format your question with special <thinking> tags
3. Return the formatted prompt to Claude
4. Claude recognizes these tags and enters explicit reasoning mode

The <thinking> tags signal to Claude to show its reasoning process explicitly.

Security Considerations

• The tool doesn’t access or transmit any sensitive information
• It runs locally on your machine and only processes the text you send to Claude
• See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting guidelines

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the terms in LICENSE.