Retool MCP Server Cursor IDE Setup 2026

Retool's MCP server, live in public beta since April 2026, exposes your Retool organization to Cursor over a single HTTP endpoint tied to your own instance — https://<your-retool-instance>/mcp — authorized through OAuth rather than a copy-pasted API key. There's no separate token to generate; the first connection attempt opens a browser authorization flow, and once approved, Cursor's requests are scoped to whatever your logged-in account can already do in Retool.

Scope-wise, this is currently an organization-and-admin server more than an app-building one: it's strongest at querying resources for data analysis, managing users and pending invites, auditing who has access to what, and inspecting resource configurations. Retool has said app-building capabilities are coming, but if you're hoping to have Cursor generate and deploy a full Retool app from a prompt today, that's not what public beta currently supports — check the current tool reference before assuming a capability exists.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Add the Endpoint to Cursor

Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "retool": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://example.retool.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Replace example.retool.com with your actual instance subdomain (or your self-hosted instance's URL).

Step 2: Authorize via OAuth

Restart Cursor. On the first tool call that needs the connection, it opens a browser window to authorize against your Retool instance. Approve it, and — per Retool's own docs — you may need to restart your coding agent once more after that first OAuth handshake completes for the connection to fully register.

Step 3: Verify

List the resources connected to my Retool organization, and show
me who currently has pending invites.

What You Can Do With Retool MCP in Cursor

As of the current beta:

That's a genuinely useful set for the "I'm an admin who needs an answer right now" workflow — "who still hasn't accepted their invite from three weeks ago" is a two-second prompt instead of a spreadsheet export.

Practical Workflows

Access audit before an offboarding

List every user in our Retool org with admin-level access, and flag
anyone who hasn't logged in during the last 60 days.

Cleaning up stale invites

Show me all pending invites older than two weeks, and draft a list
of who to follow up with versus who to revoke.

Quick data check without opening an app

Run a query against our production Postgres resource to check
today's signup count, using the same resource our onboarding app uses.

When This Setup Breaks

Connection succeeds but tool calls return permission errors. The MCP connection uses your existing Retool role — it doesn't escalate access. If a query or user-management action fails, check what your own account can do in the Retool UI first; the MCP server isn't the thing restricting you.

Self-hosted instance, and the server doesn't appear at all. Confirm your instance is actually on 4.0.0 or later — this is a hard version floor, not a soft recommendation, and earlier self-hosted releases don't expose the /mcp endpoint regardless of config.

OAuth completes, but the tool list stays empty in Cursor. Retool's own guidance flags that a second restart of the coding agent is sometimes needed after the first authorization completes — try that before assuming the config is wrong.

When NOT to use this MCP server: for now, don't route app-building or app-editing work through it — that's not in scope for the current beta's tool set, however tempting it is to ask for it. Use it for the admin, audit, and data-query workflows it actually supports, and keep building apps in the Retool editor itself until app-building tools ship.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to generate an API key for the Retool MCP server?
A: No. Authentication is OAuth 2.0 — the first connection attempt opens a browser authorization flow tied to your Retool login, rather than a static key you copy into the config.

Q: Does this work with self-hosted Retool, or only Retool Cloud?
A: Both. Cloud is supported on all plans; self-hosted instances need to be running Retool 4.0.0 or later.

Q: Can Cursor build or edit Retool apps through this server yet?
A: Not as the primary focus of the current public beta — the tool set centers on organization management, user administration, resource queries, and configuration inspection. App-building capability is on Retool's roadmap but check the current tool reference before assuming it has shipped by the time you're reading this.

Q: Does the MCP connection give the AI more access than my own Retool account has?
A: No — it operates under your existing account's permissions. If your role can't do something in the Retool UI, the same action fails through the MCP connection.

Q: What should I do if OAuth succeeds but no tools show up in Cursor?
A: Restart your coding agent once more. Retool's own documentation notes a second restart is sometimes required after the initial OAuth authorization completes before the connection fully activates.

Related Guides

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