Cursor

You need an API key from the dashboard (igk_live_..., shown once).

1. Put the key in your environment

export VINCEVANGEN_API_KEY="igk_live_..."

Start Cursor from a shell that has it, or set it in your login profile. Cursor expands ${env:NAME} in mcp.json, so the key stays out of the file.

2. Add the server

Global (all projects): ~/.cursor/mcp.json. One project only: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vvgen": {
      "url": "https://api.vincevangen.com/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:VINCEVANGEN_API_KEY}" }
    }
  }
}

Open Settings, Tools & MCP. vvgen should show a green dot and its tool list. Toggle it off and on if you edited the file while Cursor was running.

3. Use it

In Agent mode:

Generate a studio product photo of a ceramic pour-over dripper on a transparent background.

Cursor asks before running a tool the first time. The result has file links and a preview; the full image comes through vvgen_get_file.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause
Red dot, 401	${env:VINCEVANGEN_API_KEY} is empty for the Cursor process. Restart Cursor from a shell that exports it.
Tools missing	Cursor limits how many tools it exposes at once across servers; disable unused servers.
402	Out of credits. See Concepts.