Generate images in Cursor with an MCP server

Cursor's agent can scaffold a whole site, then leave gray boxes where the pictures go. The Magnt MCP server fills them: add one URL to Cursor's MCP config, sign in, and the agent can create images, refine them and save the files into your project.

Magnt EditorialNov 8, 2026 · 4 min read

Key takeaways

01Add Magnt to ~/.cursor/mcp.json with the URL https://magnt.app/mcp.
02Sign in from Cursor's MCP settings.
03Ask the agent for the image and the file path. It downloads the result for you.
04Each image costs 1 credit and stays available for 24 hours.

Add Magnt to Cursor

Cursor reads MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project, or from .cursor/mcp.json inside one project. Add a magnt entry with the server URL. There is nothing to install, because the server runs at magnt.app.

Open Cursor's settings and find the MCP section. Magnt appears in the list with a prompt to sign in. Sign in with your Magnt account and the tools turn on. To use an API key instead, add a headers object with "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_KEY" next to the URL.

~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "magnt": { "url": "https://magnt.app/mcp" }
  }
}

Ask for images while you build

In agent mode, ask for the picture in plain words and say where it should go. The agent calls generate_image, shows you the result and saves it under the name you gave. You can ask for several images for one page, and it will make them one at a time.

Give it the details a designer would need: the subject, the setting, the light, the framing and the aspect ratio. Mention the layout too. If a headline will sit over the image, ask for calm space where the text goes.

Prompt

Replace the three placeholder images in components/Features.tsx.
Make each one 4:5: a coffee cup on a desk, a notebook with a pen,
and a laptop by a window. Same warm morning light in all three.
Save them to public/features/ and update the imports.

Refine instead of starting over

Every result has an image_id. When you ask for a change, the agent sends that ID back with the new instructions, so Magnt edits the picture you already have. Say what should stay the same as well as what should change. That keeps the parts you liked.

Each result also has a download link that works for 24 hours, which is how the agent saves files. After that, the link stops working and the file is deleted, so keep what you want in your repository.

What it costs

The MCP server uses the credits on your Magnt plan. Each image or edit is 1 credit, and each account can make 30 images an hour. The agent can call get_credit_balance to check what is left before it starts a batch of images.

There is no separate developer plan. The same account works in the Magnt app, through the MCP server in Cursor, Claude Code and other agents, and through the Image API in your own code.

Review before you commit

Treat generated images like generated code: look at them before they ship. Check hands, faces, lettering and small objects at full size, and check the crop at the widths your site uses.

Write alt text from what is actually in the final image. The agent can draft it, but read it against the picture instead of the prompt.