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A large language model on its own, doesn't have access to external tools or real time data.

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It only knows what is in its training in cursor.

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The built in agent can run commands, which already makes it quite powerful.

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Still, there are many tools and services outside the agent's reach which could actually give it more

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superpowers.

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This is where MCP comes in.

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MCP stands for Model Context Protocol.

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It is an open standard that defines how application can expose both context and tools to llms in a structured

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way.

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Think of it as a plugin system, which allows us to extend the agent's capabilities by connecting it

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to external data sources and services using a standardized interface.

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A standardized interface is very important because this is not only about cursor, this is about all

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other tools out there.

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So pay attention to this.

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An MCP server can expose custom tools to the LLM tools that are purpose built for your specific workflow.

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There can be tools that are used for fetching analytics data, sending notifications, or even basic

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things like updating an issue in JIRA.

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So when do we actually need MCP?

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Well, the answer is pretty simple.

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Whenever we find ourselves doing something manually, like copy pasting data into or out of cursor,

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or switching tabs to create a JIRA ticket, whenever we feel that we are reaching the limits of what

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the agent can do natively, it's probably a good idea to see if there is something in terms of MCP that

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can help us eliminate that friction by wiring up those actions directly into the agent's toolset.

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At the time of this recording, setting up MCP is still a manual process in cursor, but in the near

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future, I believe cursor will offer a tool store where you can browse and integrate MCP enabled tools

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with just a few clicks.

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There are already websites like Cursor directory, so if you go here to MCP, you're going to find here

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a lot of MCP.

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So you can go ahead and search for whatever tool you would like to integrate with and follow the instructions

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there.

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Now, don't get me wrong, I don't expect you to get MCP just from this lecture.

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Consider this a brief introduction to the topic which has recently gained a lot of traction.

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And don't worry, in the upcoming lectures we're going to also look at a practical example.