Which Cursor plan do I need to use the Sendblue MCP server?

The MCP client in Cursor is available on all plans including the free tier. You need Cursor version 0.43 or later. The Sendblue API keys are separate — get them free at dashboard.sendblue.com/company-signup with no credit card required.

Is it safe to store my Sendblue API keys in .cursor/mcp.json?

The .cursor/mcp.json file is local to your machine and not committed to version control by default. Always add .cursor/mcp.json to your .gitignore. For team environments, reference environment variables in the config rather than hardcoding key values.

Does the Sendblue MCP work with all Cursor AI models?

Yes. MCP tools are model-agnostic in Cursor. The Sendblue MCP server works with GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini, and any other model you have enabled in Cursor's model settings.

How is this different from the Claude Code MCP approach?

Both use the same MCP protocol and the same Sendblue MCP server binary. Claude Code configures MCP servers via claude_mcp_config.json or the CLI; Cursor uses .cursor/mcp.json. The config file location and format differ slightly between the two IDEs but the underlying server is identical.

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Cursor iMessage Integration

April 5, 2026

8 min read

Nikita Jerschow

Cursor iMessage Integration — Send iMessages from Cursor IDE via MCP (2026)

Cursor's MCP client lets you connect external tools directly into Cursor Composer. Add the Sendblue MCP server and you can send iMessages, trigger deployment alerts, and message customers with a single natural-language instruction — without leaving your IDE.

Why send iMessages from Cursor?

AI-assisted development has moved beyond code generation. Developers now use Cursor Composer to orchestrate entire workflows: writing code, running tests, deploying to staging, and notifying stakeholders. The missing piece has been external communication — specifically iMessage, which reaches 1.5 billion iPhone users with blue bubbles that get 30–45% response rates.

With the Sendblue MCP server configured in Cursor, you can ask Composer to:

Send a build-success notification to your phone after a deployment completes
Alert your on-call engineer via iMessage when a test suite fails
Message a customer the moment their feature request is shipped
Trigger a sales follow-up iMessage from within an AI sales workflow you are building

The integration takes under five minutes to configure and requires no additional infrastructure beyond an npm install.

Prerequisites

Before you start:

Cursor 0.43 or later — MCP support was added in this release. Check your version at Cursor > About Cursor.
Sendblue API keys — Free sandbox at dashboard.sendblue.com/company-signup. No credit card required.
Node.js 18+ — Required to run the Sendblue MCP server process via npx.

Step 1 — Create the .cursor/mcp.json config file

Cursor reads MCP server configurations from a .cursor/mcp.json file in your project root (or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for a global config that applies to all projects). Create the file if it does not exist and add the Sendblue server entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sendblue": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "sendblue-api-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "SB_API_KEY_ID": "your_key_id_here",
        "SB_API_SECRET_KEY": "your_secret_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace your_key_id_here and your_secret_key_here with the credentials from your Sendblue dashboard. Then add the config file to your .gitignore so credentials are never committed to version control:

echo ".cursor/mcp.json" >> .gitignore

Step 2 — Restart Cursor and verify the connection

After saving .cursor/mcp.json, restart Cursor. Navigate to Settings > MCP — you should see sendblue listed with a green connected indicator. If it shows red, check that Node.js 18+ is on your PATH and that the API key values are correct.

You can also verify by opening Cursor Composer (Cmd+Shift+I on macOS) and typing:

List the available MCP tools

Composer will enumerate the tools exposed by the Sendblue MCP server, including send_message, get_message_status, and evaluate_service.

Step 3 — Send your first iMessage from Cursor Composer

Open Cursor Composer and type a natural-language instruction:

Send an iMessage to +14155551234 saying "Deployment to staging is complete.
Build #482 passed all 247 tests."

Composer calls the Sendblue send_message tool, which POSTs to the Sendblue REST API:

POST https://api.sendblue.co/api/send-message
Headers:
  sb-api-key-id: <your key id>
  sb-api-secret-key: <your secret key>
  Content-Type: application/json

Body:
{
  "number": "+14155551234",
  "content": "Deployment to staging is complete. Build #482 passed all 247 tests."
}

The response includes a messageHandle and a status field. A status of QUEUED means the message has been accepted; it updates to DELIVERED once the recipient's device confirms receipt.

Developer use cases

The most common ways developers use the Sendblue MCP inside Cursor:

Build and deployment notifications — Ask Composer to message you when a long-running build or deploy step finishes. No more polling a terminal window.
CI/CD failure alerts — Integrate the MCP call into your pipeline scripts. Have Cursor generate the alert message with relevant error context pulled from logs.
Customer shipping notifications — Send a personalized iMessage to a beta user the moment their requested feature ships.
AI sales workflow testing — When building an AI SDR or outreach tool in Cursor, use the MCP to test actual message delivery without switching to a separate test harness.
On-call escalation — "Send the on-call engineer an iMessage with the last 5 error lines and a link to the Grafana dashboard."

Cursor vs Claude Code — MCP configuration differences

Both Cursor and Claude Code support MCP, but the configuration file locations differ:

Cursor uses .cursor/mcp.json in the project root, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for a global config
Claude Code uses claude_mcp_config.json at the project root, or is configured via the claude mcp add CLI command

The Sendblue MCP server package (sendblue-api-mcp) is identical in both cases. The JSON structure is nearly the same — both use a mcpServers key with command, args, and env fields. If you work across both IDEs, maintain both config files pointing to the same npm package. See Sendblue MCP documentation for the full tool schema and both IDE configs.

Sending media and iMessage effects

The Sendblue MCP exposes the full API surface, including media attachments and iMessage send effects:

# In Cursor Composer — send with an image attachment:
Send an iMessage to +14155551234 with the screenshot at
https://myapp.com/screenshots/build-482.png and the message
"Here's the staging preview. LGTM?"

# Send with a celebration effect:
Send an iMessage to +14155551234 saying "Shipped!" with the celebration effect

The MCP server maps these instructions to the appropriate API fields: media_url for attachments and send_style for effects. Valid send_style values: celebration, shooting_star, fireworks, lasers, love, confetti, balloons, spotlight, echo, invisible, gentle, loud, slam.

Next steps

MCP documentation — Full MCP server setup, available tools, and schema reference
API reference — Direct REST API documentation for custom integrations
Cursor integration guide — Detailed Cursor-specific setup and troubleshooting
Windsurf integration — Configure Sendblue MCP in Windsurf IDE

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