---
title: "Kilobat in Cursor: mcp.json setup, skills and one-click install | Kilobat"
url: "https://kilobat.app/agents/cursor.html"
description: "Add Kilobat's Mac network MCP server to Cursor with one click or ~/.cursor/mcp.json, install the agent skills, and see what Cursor's agent can change."
---

Agent setup

# Set up Kilobat in Cursor

Let Cursor's agent see why a package download hangs, which app is using the connection and whether the network is metered before a big pull.

Free CLI and MCP server · macOS 14 or later · Checked: 30 October 2026

## Install the CLI

The Kilobat CLI is free and open source, and it includes the MCP server. Install it with Homebrew:

```
brew install seifip/kilobat/kilobat
```

Check it with `kilobat --version`. `kilobat doctor` says whether the Kilobat app is running, its network filter is on and Pro is active; the tools work without the app, which adds Wi-Fi names, history and rule enforcement. The CLI needs macOS 14 or later.

## Connect the MCP server

1. With the CLI installed, click [Add to Cursor](cursor://anysphere.cursor-deeplink/mcp/install?name=kilobat&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoia2lsb2JhdCIsImFyZ3MiOlsibWNwIl19) and confirm in Cursor.
2. Or add it to `~/.cursor/mcp.json` for every project, or to `.cursor/mcp.json` in one project:

   ```
   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "kilobat": {
         "command": "kilobat",
         "args": [
           "mcp"
         ]
       }
     }
   }
   ```
3. Open Cursor Settings, find Kilobat in the MCP list and check that it is on and lists its tools.

An app opened from the Dock doesn't always see the PATH your shell uses. If the server doesn't start, replace `kilobat` with the full path that `command -v kilobat` prints: `/opt/homebrew/bin/kilobat` on Apple silicon, `/usr/local/bin/kilobat` on Intel.

## Add the skills

Nine Agent Skills teach the agent to read Kilobat's measurements and to ask before changing settings. Install them for all your projects with [skills.sh](https://skills.sh/seifip/kilobat-skills):

```
npx skills add seifip/kilobat-skills -g -a cursor
```

This puts them in `~/.cursor/skills/`. Leave out `-g` to install them for the current project only, or leave out both flags to pick agents from a list.

The `kilobat` skill is the entry point: it holds the setup and safety rules and sends the agent to the skill that fits, such as `mac-network-troubleshooting` or `mac-agent-runs`. See [all nine skills](https://kilobat.app/docs.html#network-troubleshooting-skill).

## Try these prompts

Ask in plain words. The agent picks the tools; these are the ones each request usually needs.

| Ask | MCP tools |
|---|---|
| The internet feels slow. Find out why and tell me what to fix first. | `diagnose_network`, `get_status` |
| npm install hangs on registry.npmjs.org. Find the layer that fails. | `diagnose_connection` |
| Something is uploading a lot. Which app is it, and how much has it sent in the last hour? | `get_status`, `get_app_bandwidth` |
| I'm about to pull a 6 GB Docker image. Is now a good time, or am I on a metered network? | `get_conditions` |
| Does my VPN carry all my traffic, or only some of it? | `get_exit_path` |
| Pages are slow to start loading. Compare DNS resolvers and tell me if switching would help. Don't change anything yet. | `benchmark_dns`, `diagnose_network` |

## What Cursor can and can't change

Kilobat's MCP server marks every tool as read-only or as a change, and each change tool's description tells the agent to get your confirmation first. The [kilobat skill](https://github.com/seifip/kilobat-skills/tree/main/skills/kilobat) holds the same rule: read freely, ask before changing.

### Runs without asking

- Measure Wi-Fi, router, internet and DNS latency, and per-app traffic: `diagnose_network`, `get_status`, `get_wifi`, `scan_wifi`.
- Find the layer that stops one host, trace a route and compare resolvers: `diagnose_connection`, `trace_route`, `benchmark_dns`.
- Read history, sessions, rules and approvals: `get_usage_report`, `list_sessions`, `list_rules`, `list_approvals`.
- Ping for latency spikes with `run_stutter_test`, which sends pings only.

### Asks you first

- A speed test, which uses up to 80 MB (`run_speedtest`; on a metered network, 10 MB or less), and a five-second LAN test (`run_lan_test`).
- Looking up your public IP with Cloudflare (`get_exit_path` with `public_ip`).
- Profiles, app rules, blocked hosts, the new-app mode, budgets, quotas, a network's data cost and pausing updaters (`set_profile`, `set_app_rule`, `block_destination`, `set_new_app_mode`, `set_budget`, `set_app_quota`, `set_network_cost`, `set_updater_pause`).
- DNS, which macOS also guards with an administrator password prompt (`set_dns`).
- Keeping the Mac running with the lid closed, every time (`keep_awake` with `lid_closed`). A plain `keep_awake` changes no settings and ends when it expires.

### Can't do

- Let a waiting app connect on its own: `decide_approval` can block at once, but allowing opens Kilobat's approval window for you to confirm.
- Change AirDrop visibility: `set_airdrop_visibility` opens System Settings for you.
- Change sleep settings, another app's settings, or anything outside Kilobat. It never reads prompts or replies.
- Enforce rules without the Kilobat app and its network filter (Pro). Without them, rules are saved, not applied, and the agent should say so.

Cursor asks before it runs a tool unless you let it run tools on its own. Kilobat's change tools still tell the agent to ask you, but keep confirmation on for them.

If the agent can also run shell commands, the `kilobat` CLI can do what the MCP tools do. The skills tell it which commands to run freely and which to ask about.

## Track agent runs

Cursor has no hook setup in Kilobat yet. Without hooks, Kilobat goes by an agent's traffic and CPU, so a quiet run may be done or waiting for you. An agent with its own hooks can call `kilobat agent-event start|working|waiting|done|failed --agent <name> --session <id> --cwd <folder>`; the command prints nothing and always exits 0. Add `--verbose` to see what happened when you try it by hand. See [Connect agents](https://kilobat.app/docs.html#connect-agents) in the docs.

Kilobat recognizes Cursor's agent by its traffic and keeps the Mac awake while it works, when you turn on While AI agents work.

## Sources

- [Cursor docs: Model Context Protocol](https://cursor.com/docs/context/mcp)
- [Cursor docs: MCP install links](https://cursor.com/docs/context/mcp/install-links)
- [Kilobat docs: AI agents and MCP](https://kilobat.app/docs.html#agents)
- [skills.sh: supported agents and their skill folders](https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills/blob/main/docs/agents.md)

Checked on 30 October 2026. Agents change their settings often; if a step no longer matches, tell us at the support address.

## Other agents

- [Claude Code](https://kilobat.app/agents/claude-code.html): Give Claude Code your Mac's network as tools: per-app traffic, Wi-Fi, DNS, why a host fails and keep-awake.
- [Codex CLI](https://kilobat.app/agents/codex.html): Codex can check the network before a big download, find why its own request hangs and keep the Mac awake for a long task.
- [Gemini CLI](https://kilobat.app/agents/gemini-cli.html): Gemini CLI can diagnose the Mac's network, scan Wi-Fi and keep the Mac awake while it works.
- [Claude Desktop](https://kilobat.app/agents/claude-desktop.html): Ask Claude why the Wi-Fi is slow, what used your hotspot data or whether your VPN carries everything, and it reads the answer from your Mac.
- [Windsurf](https://kilobat.app/agents/windsurf.html): Cascade can find why a dependency won't download, check DNS and trace a route from your Mac, with Kilobat's MCP server.
- [Cline](https://kilobat.app/agents/cline.html): Cline can check the Mac's network and keep it awake while it works.
- [Zed](https://kilobat.app/agents/zed.html): Zed's agent can measure the Mac's network, trace a route and compare DNS resolvers through Kilobat's MCP server.
- [Any MCP client](https://kilobat.app/agents/mcp-client.html): Kilobat's MCP server is a local stdio command, kilobat mcp.