This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Sultan
Hey there! Over the past couple of months, I’ve been diving deep into the world of MCP servers for Cursor, and honestly, I was pretty confused at first. What’s MCP? Why do I need it? But after testing a ton of different tools, I get it now — this stuff actually changes how you work with code.
In simple terms, MCP servers are like plugins for Cursor that give it superpowers. Instead of constantly switching between your browser, docs, and editor, everything just works right inside Cursor. Sounds pretty cool, right? Let me break down my top 6.
1. Context7 — Finally, up-to-date documentation!
You know what used to drive me absolutely nuts about working with AI? It kept suggesting outdated code. You’d tell it “build a React component” and it would spit out some ancient 2022 stuff.
Context7 tackles this head-on. Just add use context7 at the end of your prompt, and it automatically finds fresh documentation for your libraries.
Real-world example: Instead of “Create a form with React Hook Form” you write “Create a form with React Hook Form, use context7” — and you get code with the current API, not something from a year ago.
Seriously, this saves a ton of time. No more googling “how do I do this in the new version?”
2. Playwright — Browser automation for the lazy
Remember those days when testing web apps meant clicking the same buttons a hundred times? I remember, and I was over it.
Playwright through MCP is like having a robot assistant that checks your site for you. You tell Cursor “test that the registration form works,” and it opens a browser, fills out fields, clicks buttons — all by itself.
What I love about it:
- No complex setup required
- Runs fast (doesn’t lag like Selenium)
- Can test on different devices
The only downside — sometimes it gets confused on complex sites, but for most tasks it works great.
3. Firecrawl — Web scraping without the headache
Back in the day, collecting data from websites meant writing tons of Python code with BeautifulSoup or Scrapy. Now you just tell Cursor “scrape all articles from this blog” — and boom, done.
Firecrawl is especially awesome because:
- It figures out the site structure automatically
- Gives you data in clean formats (markdown or JSON)
- No need to mess with selectors
Real use case: Recently did competitor analysis for a client. Instead of manually copying text from 50 websites, I wrote one command — and 10 minutes later had a file with all the content.
4. Task Master — So Cursor doesn’t get lost in big projects
You know the main problem with AI on complex projects? It forgets context. Ask it to build a feature — it builds it. An hour later ask for something related — it’s already forgotten what it did before.
Task Master solves this. It keeps a “project diary” for Cursor — what’s been done, what’s planned, how tasks connect. AI gets way smarter when it understands the big picture.
What actually works:
- Cursor remembers architectural decisions between sessions
- Suggests consistent solutions (doesn’t rewrite your code style every time)
- Understands dependencies between components
Example from my life: Building an e-commerce site. Without Task Master, I say “add shopping cart” — it builds from scratch. With Task Master, it remembers there’s already auth and product APIs, so it integrates the cart properly.
The downside:
- Takes time to set up for your project ## 5. Notion — When you’re not working alone
If you work on a team that lives in Notion, this MCP server is a game-changer. Cursor can read your docs, create new pages, update task statuses.
Cool example: You’re coding a new feature, and Cursor automatically updates the tech doc in Notion with what you built. Or the reverse — it takes requirements from Notion and generates code scaffolding.
The only “but” — if your Notion is a mess, Cursor will get confused too. Clean up your docs first.
6. Jira — For corporate sufferers
Yeah, I know, everyone hates Jira. But if you work at a big company, you can’t escape it. And this is where the Jira MCP server actually saves your sanity.
Cursor can:
Create tickets straight from code (found a bug — instant ticket)
Show related tasks when you’re working on a feature
Update statuses when you push code
What’s actually convenient: You can create tickets right from Cursor (found a bug — immediately created a task), search for related tickets when working on a feature, and update statuses.
Which one should you pick?
If you’re new to this — start with Context7. It’s the easiest to set up, and you’ll feel the difference immediately.
If you do a lot of web projects — add Playwright and Firecrawl.
If you work on a team — definitely try Notion or Jira (depending on what you use).
My honest take
A year ago I would’ve said all these AI assistants are marketing hype. Now I can’t imagine working without them.
Yeah, sometimes they glitch. Yeah, setup can be a pain. But when everything works — it’s like getting superpowers.
Start with one or two servers, get comfortable, then add the rest. And don’t try to set up everything at once — you’ll just get overwhelmed.
Happy coding! 
P.S. If you have questions about setup — drop them in the comments, I’ll try to help.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Sultan