New Relic MCP Server Cursor IDE Setup (2026)

How do you set up the New Relic MCP server in Cursor? New Relic runs an official, New Relic-hosted MCP server, currently in public preview, at https://mcp.newrelic.com/mcp/ (with separate EU and JP regional endpoints). Connect with a User API key — a New Relic key starting with NRAK- — passed as an api-key header, and Cursor can query APM traces, logs, metrics, alerts, incidents, dashboards, and entities directly from chat. A local npx-based option also exists if you'd rather run the server yourself than depend on New Relic's hosted endpoint.

Being in public preview matters here: expect the hosted server's exact tool set and behavior to keep evolving faster than a typical GA integration, and check New Relic's own docs if something you read here has since shifted.

What You Can Do With New Relic MCP in Cursor

Since the key authenticates as your New Relic user, the connection inherits your existing role-based permissions — it can't see more than you can see in the New Relic UI yourself.

Prerequisites

Method 1: Hosted Endpoint with a User API Key (Recommended)

Step 1: Create a New Relic User API Key

In New Relic, go to your account's API keys section and create a User key. Copy the value — it starts with NRAK- and is shown once.

Step 2: Add the Server to mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "new-relic-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://mcp.newrelic.com/mcp/",
      "type": "http",
      "headers": {
        "api-key": "NRAK-your-real-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

If your account is EU- or JP-hosted, swap the url for https://mcp.eu.newrelic.com/mcp/ or https://mcp.jp.newrelic.com/mcp/ respectively — using the wrong region against an account hosted elsewhere won't authenticate correctly.

Step 3: Restart Cursor and Verify

In Cursor chat, try:

Show me any alerts currently firing in New Relic

or

Pull the error rate for the checkout-service entity over the last hour

A response naming real alerts, entities, or metrics confirms the connection. If Cursor's specific client doesn't support the http-type remote entry directly, use the mcp-remote proxy instead: npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.newrelic.com/mcp/, which handles OAuth-dependent clients that expect a local command.

Method 2: Local Server via npx

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "newrelic": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "newrelic-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NEW_RELIC_API_KEY": "NRAK-your-real-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Optionally add "NEW_RELIC_ACCOUNT_ID": "your-account-id" to the env block if you want to scope the connection to a specific account rather than letting it resolve the default account tied to the key.

Practical Workflows

Deploy-regression correlation

Compare error rate for the payments-api entity in the hour before and after the 2pm deploy — did anything spike?

Incident triage

Show me the current open incidents, and for the highest-severity one, pull the related distributed trace for the slowest request in the last 10 minutes

Log-driven debugging

Search logs for "connection timeout" in the last 30 minutes across all services tagged env:production

Pre-release health check

Show me the current error rate and average response time for every entity in the "checkout" tag group, so I know the baseline before this release goes out

Troubleshooting

"Unauthorized" with a key that looks correct
Confirm the key is a User API key (NRAK- prefix), not an Ingest or another key type — New Relic issues several key types for different purposes, and only the User key is valid for this MCP connection.

Hosted endpoint doesn't respond, but the key works in New Relic's UI directly
Check you're using the correct regional endpoint — an EU- or JP-hosted account won't authenticate against the default US mcp.newrelic.com URL. Match the endpoint to where your account actually lives.

Cursor doesn't support the http-type entry
Fall back to the mcp-remote proxy command shown in Method 1, Step 3, or use Method 2's local npx-based server instead — both work around a client version that doesn't yet support direct http-type remote entries.

Results are missing data you know exists
The connection inherits your New Relic user's role-based permissions. If a dashboard, entity, or account is outside what your user role can see in the New Relic UI, the MCP connection can't see it either — this is expected, not a bug.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I use the hosted endpoint or the local npx server?
A: The hosted endpoint (Method 1) is the lower-maintenance default and matches how New Relic is actively developing this server. Use the local server if your Cursor client doesn't support http-type remote entries well, or if you'd rather manage the process yourself.

Q: What permissions does the User API key carry?
A: Whatever role-based permissions your New Relic user account has — the key doesn't grant broader access than you already have in the New Relic UI. There's no separate scoping step beyond your account's existing role.

Q: Is this server stable, or still changing?
A: It's in public preview as of this writing, meaning New Relic is actively iterating on it. Expect the tool set and exact behavior to shift faster than a GA integration, and check New Relic's current documentation if something here has since changed.

Q: Can I use one connection across multiple New Relic accounts?
A: Access depends on which accounts your User key's owning account can reach; for the local server, setting NEW_RELIC_ACCOUNT_ID scopes queries to a specific account rather than relying on a default resolution.

Q: Does this replace the New Relic dashboard UI?
A: For quick lookups and correlating data during active debugging, mostly yes. For building shareable dashboards, setting up new alert policies, or anything meant for a wider team audience, New Relic's own UI is still the better tool.

Q: How does this compare to Honeycomb, if we're deciding between the two platforms?
A: Honeycomb's MCP server is a single hosted endpoint with OAuth or API-key auth and a trace/query-first tool set; New Relic's leans on a User API key against a broader APM/metrics/logs surface, with a hosted endpoint as the recommended default here too. Neither replaces the other's dashboard UI for team-facing work. See the Honeycomb MCP server setup guide for the direct comparison.

Related Guides

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