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OverviewWhy ExpandQuickstartWays to Use Expand

Agent Quickstarts

OverviewExpand SkillClaude CodeCursorCodexOpenCodeSkill-Based AgentsOther MCP Clients

Fetch

OverviewHow Fetch WorksOutput ModelInclude OptionsBrowser BehaviorHighlightsPlayground & ReplayBatched Fetch

Reference

API ReferenceCLI CommandsMCP Tools & ResourcesTypeScript SDKPython SDK

Account & Billing

Pricing & UsageTiersFAQ

Machine-Readable Docs

start.mdllms.txtllms-full.txtDocs as Markdown
Browse docs

Get Started

OverviewWhy ExpandQuickstartWays to Use Expand

Agent Quickstarts

OverviewExpand SkillClaude CodeCursorCodexOpenCodeSkill-Based AgentsOther MCP Clients

Fetch

OverviewHow Fetch WorksOutput ModelInclude OptionsBrowser BehaviorHighlightsPlayground & ReplayBatched Fetch

Reference

API ReferenceCLI CommandsMCP Tools & ResourcesTypeScript SDKPython SDK

Account & Billing

Pricing & UsageTiersFAQ

Machine-Readable Docs

start.mdllms.txtllms-full.txtDocs as Markdown

Cursor

Set up Expand for Cursor with the Expand Skill and MCP tools.

Install the Expand Skill so Cursor knows when to use Expand, then install MCP so Cursor can call Expand Fetch tools directly. Cursor has no hook path, so Skill + MCP is the full recommended setup.

expandai login
expandai skill install cursor project
expandai mcp install cursor project

Run this from your project root. Project setup writes .cursor/skills/expandai/ and .cursor/mcp.json. Restart or reload Cursor so it picks up the new skill and MCP server.

Verification prompt:

Use Expand to fetch https://news.ycombinator.com.
Show me the first 10 lines of Markdown and confirm the Fetch succeeded.

Optional auth check:

expandai whoami

What gets installed

PieceWhat it does
Expand SkillInstalls SKILL.md so Cursor knows when to use Expand and how to fall back to the CLI.
MCP serverRegisters the Expand MCP server as expandai with expandai mcp run.
Shared authCursor config does not receive API keys. The MCP server reads local Expand CLI auth from expandai login.

Project and global scope

Project scope is the default. Use global scope to make Expand available across every project.

ScopeInstall commandsWrites toWhen to use
Projectexpandai skill install cursor project
expandai mcp install cursor project		<project root>/.cursor/skills/expandai/
<project root>/.cursor/mcp.json		Recommended for one repo.
Global

Commit project-scoped config only if the team wants Expand enabled for collaborators.

Skill and MCP

The skill gives Cursor instructions for when to use Expand. MCP gives Cursor native tools such as fetch and fetch_search.

Skill alone can work when Cursor can run shell commands. Add MCP when you want Cursor to call Expand as native tools. For Cursor, install both.

Cursor does not have an Expand hook path. Unlike Claude Code, there is no way for Cursor to route its built-in fetch through Expand automatically, so the skill is what tells Cursor when to reach for Expand.

What the installer writes

This is reference for debugging. The installer writes both files for you, and you usually should not edit them by hand.

Skill path:

<project root>/.cursor/skills/expandai/SKILL.md

MCP config shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "expandai": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "expandai",
      "args": ["mcp", "run"]
    }
  }

The config holds no API key. Auth comes from your local expandai login session, which the MCP server reads at runtime.

Uninstall

Uninstall both pieces if you want Cursor to forget the Expand instructions and remove the native MCP tools.

expandai skill uninstall cursor project
expandai mcp uninstall cursor project

Global uninstall:

expandai skill uninstall cursor global
expandai mcp uninstall cursor global

Troubleshooting

Cursor does not see the skill

  • Confirm you installed the skill for the same scope Cursor is using.
  • Confirm <project root>/.cursor/skills/expandai/SKILL.md exists for project setup.
  • Restart or reload Cursor.
  • Try global setup only if you want Expand available across every project.

MCP server is missing

  • Confirm <project root>/.cursor/mcp.json contains an expandai server for project setup.
  • Confirm ~/.cursor/mcp.json contains an expandai server for global setup.
  • Restart or reload Cursor.
  • Inspect Cursor's MCP logs if it reports a connection error.

Fetch fails or auth is missing

Run expandai login and expandai whoami in your terminal, then try the verification prompt again. Do not paste API keys into Cursor config.

Cursor does not use the tool

Ask Cursor explicitly to use the Expand MCP fetch tool, then retry.

Next steps

  • Agent Quickstarts overview
  • Expand Skill
  • MCP Tools & Resources
  • CLI Commands
  • Cursor MCP docs
  • Cursor Skills docs
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On This Page

What gets installedProject and global scopeSkill and MCPWhat the installer writesUninstallTroubleshootingCursor does not see the skillMCP server is missingFetch fails or auth is missingCursor does not use the toolNext steps
expandai skill install cursor global

expandai mcp install cursor global
~/.cursor/skills/expandai/
~/.cursor/mcp.json
Use across projects.
}