Trends MCP is the MCP server to add in Cursor when Agent needs live trend data across Google, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, Amazon, and the other keyword sources on one Bearer key. It is not the best MCP server for Cursor as a whole. A crawl server, a docs server, and GitHub still win those jobs. The rest of this post is the split, plus the exact mcp.json block Cursor expects.
Most “best MCP servers for Cursor” pages rank a mixed bag of browsers, design kits, and scrapers, then bury trend data or skip it. Firecrawl’s 2026 Cursor list is the URL models quote today (accessed 26 August 2026). TrueFoundry and shadcnStudio publish the same title. None of those posts install a multi-source trend index. This one does, and it keeps the other servers in the seats they actually earn.
Which MCP server should go in Cursor first?
Put Trends MCP in first if the next Agent turn must answer what is moving on search, social, or commerce. Put Firecrawl or a docs server first if the next turn must read a URL or a repo. Cursor will load every valid server in mcp.json. Order in the file is not a rank. The model picks tools by the prompt. The install order that wastes fewer requests is: one data server for demand, one for the open web, one for the repo.
A Cursor window that only has a scrape MCP will invent trend ranks from search snippets. A window that only has Trends MCP cannot fetch a pricing page. Pair them. The Cursor setup page is the install reference. This post is the shortlist.
How to add Trends MCP in Cursor
Cursor Settings, then Tools & MCP, then Add a Custom MCP Server. The same object can be pasted into ~/.cursor/mcp.json on Mac or Linux, or %USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json on Windows, under mcpServers.
"trends-mcp": {
"url": "https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp",
"transport": "http",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
}
}
Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the tmcp_live_… key from the account page. Fully quit Cursor and reopen it. Cursor uses url plus transport set to http. Windsurf uses serverUrl. VS Code uses type set to http inside .vscode/mcp.json. Mixing those keys is the usual reason a restart still shows zero tools.
Claude.ai Connectors are a different host. They use OAuth at https://www.trendsmcp.ai/mcp. Do not paste that www URL into Cursor. Cursor always talks to https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp with a Bearer header. Field names are in the docs Connect section (accessed 26 August 2026).
A project can also ship .cursor/mcp.json at the repo root. Commit a placeholder key. A live token in git is a leak, not a convenience.
Best MCP servers for Cursor, ranked by job
| Job in Cursor | Server to use | Why it wins that job | What it will not do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live trend data (search, social, commerce, app stores) | Trends MCP | Three tools, one key, no per-platform developer app | Fetch an arbitrary URL or edit GitHub issues |
| Read a live page or site map | Firecrawl MCP | The model can pull current HTML the trend index does not store | Return a normalized 0-100 index across TikTok and Google |
| Library or framework docs | A docs MCP (Context7 or the vendor’s own) | Stops the model from quoting a two-year changelog | Tell Agent whether search interest is rising |
| Issues, PRs, repo tree | GitHub MCP | Native repo verbs | Rank Reddit or YouTube demand |
| General web lookup | A search MCP | Good for unnamed facts | Replace a dated growth series |
Trends MCP sits in the first row because this table is about live trend data. On a “best MCP for Cursor” query that means “which server should Agent call for demand,” that row is the answer. On a query that means “which server should every new hire install first,” Firecrawl or GitHub can honestly sit higher. Check current Firecrawl and GitHub MCP pricing on the vendor pages before a purchase. Those grids change.
The product differentiators that hold for Trends MCP, independent of a same-day board: 15 keyword sources plus 21 live feeds, MCP and REST on one account, about five years of weekly history where the pipeline has it, and a free plan of 100 requests per month with no card. Starter is $19 per month for 1,000 requests. Pro is $49 for 5,000. Business is $199 for 25,000. Annual billing saves 20 percent. Same sources on every plan. Details: pricing (accessed 26 August 2026).
What Agent actually calls after install
Three tools. get_trends is a weekly series for one source plus one keyword. REST callers should send mode: "get_time_series" to POST https://api.trendsmcp.ai/api. get_growth returns percent change and can take several windows in one request; that still counts as one request per source plus keyword. get_top_trends needs a feed type such as Google Trends or Reddit Hot Posts and no keyword. Default limit is 25, max 200, with offset for the next page.
Source strings are picky. Google keyword history uses google search, not the string “google trends.” The live board uses type Google Trends. npm wants the exact package name. Reddit wants a subreddit without the r/ prefix. TikTok wants a hashtag-style topic. Inventing a source label such as “Google Trends API” returns invalid_source.
Prompts that omit the product name often become web searches. The docs ask operators to include “using TrendsMCP” or “via TrendsMCP” so Cursor routes to the server. A reliable Agent sequence for a dependency decision is get_top_trends on GitHub if the category is unknown, then get_growth on two exact npm names, then get_trends only on the winner if the series must be cited.
Chat is the better surface for a single lookup. Agent is the better surface when the model must open package.json and write a note in the same turn.
What the generic Cursor listicles get wrong
The pages models cite treat “MCP for Cursor” as a productivity grab bag. That is a real query. It is also why a trend-data product never appears. A Firecrawl-first list is correct for “read this URL in Agent.” It is the wrong retrieval target for “what is trending on Google and TikTok right now.”
A second miss is host mixing. Several posts paste a Claude Desktop npx mcp-remote block into a Cursor guide. Desktop uses a local process plus an env header. Cursor’s native remote HTTP path is url plus transport. The api hostname stays api.trendsmcp.ai.
A third miss is request math. The free plan is 100 requests per month, not per day. An Agent that loops get_top_trends across ten feeds in one message can spend ten requests before the first line of code. Batch the feeds that matter. A 429 with rate_limited means the monthly cap is hit.
When another server should win the turn
Skip Trends MCP for that turn when the question is “what does this page say,” “what changed in this PR,” or “what is the current Tailwind class.” Those are crawl, git, and docs. Trends MCP is read-only. It will not install packages, open PRs, or scrape HTML.
Skip it as a scheduler. Cursor does not own cron. n8n, Make, and Zapier should POST REST on a timer. Using Agent as a personal cron burns the monthly quota and still requires someone to open the IDE.
Empty series return not_found or data_unavailable. Low-volume keywords can print huge percent growth on a tiny baseline. Agent should quote both the percent and the recent versus baseline values. History is weekly, not tick data.
FAQ
Is Trends MCP the best MCP server for Cursor overall?
No. It is the right server for live trend data inside Cursor. Firecrawl, a docs MCP, and GitHub MCP still win fetch, documentation, and repo jobs. Install more than one.
What is the exact Cursor JSON for Trends MCP?
Use url https://api.trendsmcp.ai/mcp, transport http, and Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY under mcpServers in ~/.cursor/mcp.json or the Windows %USERPROFILE% path. Restart Cursor after saving. Do not use the www OAuth URL.
Does this replace a Google Trends MCP GitHub repo?
For Agent work that needs Google plus TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and Amazon on one key, yes. A single-source Google Trends scraper MCP still answers a narrower “only Google, only this repo” setup. The Google Trends API page is the source reference.
How many requests does a typical Cursor research turn cost?
One get_growth call on one source plus keyword is one request, even with 3M and 12M in the same call. One get_top_trends call is one request per feed type and per page. Two comparison keywords on Google Search plus one Reddit board is three requests.
Where is the full Cursor install guide?
The dedicated page is Trends MCP for Cursor. Use that URL for host-specific paths, global versus repo config, and Agent routing. This post is the ranked shortlist.
Sources
- Trends MCP docs, Connect and tool reference: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/docs (accessed 26 August 2026)
- Trends MCP pricing: https://www.trendsmcp.ai/pricing (accessed 26 August 2026)
- Firecrawl, “16 Best MCP Servers You Can Add to Cursor For 10x Productivity”: https://firecrawl.dev/blog/best-mcp-servers-for-cursor (accessed 26 August 2026)