How to Set Up an MCP Server in Cursor for Error Logs

Cursor shows the MCP server as failed, or the tool call never returns. The editor was talking JSON-RPC on stdin and stdout. A console.log in the server, or a probe that prints a banner, is treated as a broken message.

The Model Context Protocol stdio transport uses stdout for protocol frames only. Diagnostic logs belong on stderr, or in a file the tools read later. If the server prompts on stdin, it also steals the frame stream. That is why an interactive "what were you trying to do?" question cannot run on the pipe.

AethelLayer's MCP process reads the local error log. It does not phone home when the editor opens. Two tools are registered:

• get_recent_errors returns the latest local failures, including exit 137 and API dropouts.
• draft_github_ticket builds a GitHub issue URL from one of those failures. It does not call the GitHub API to create the issue.

Print the config from the CLI:

bashnpx --yes @aethellayer/sdk init

Put this in .cursor/mcp.json. No arguments: a non-TTY launch starts the MCP server.

json{  "mcpServers": {    "aethellayer": {      "command": "npx",      "args": ["-y", "@aethellayer/sdk"]    }  }}

Claude Desktop uses the same block. Ask the model for recent errors, then open the draft URL yourself.