Set up your connection
- Create a Read token. In the SearchSeal app, open Settings, then API, and create a personal access token. Start with Read so Cursor can inspect saved data.
- Open the global MCP file. Open ~/.cursor/mcp.json and add the SearchSeal configuration shown here, replacing <token> with your token. A project file at .cursor/mcp.json also works, but it is usually committed to a repository, so a token does not belong there.
{ "mcpServers": { "searchseal": { "url": "https://searchseal.com/api/v1/mcp", "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer <token>" } } } } - Check the server connection. Check that Cursor lists the SearchSeal server in its MCP settings. If it shows an error, a 401 means the token is missing, wrong or revoked.
- Ask about a brand. Ask Cursor to list your brands first, then request a report for one brand with results by AI tool. Clients that support MCP prompts can also use weekly_pulse, top_fixes, did_it_work and engine_scorecard.
- Revoke the token. When you are done, revoke the token in Settings, API. Access through that token stops at once.
What Cursor can read
Read tools retrieve account and brand details, tracked products and keywords, questions and saved answers. They also retrieve rivals through reports, search reports, page content, fixes, before-and-after comparisons, page checks and articles.
You can ask Cursor to inspect an answer’s full text and source links, then review a fix’s evidence and draft. A returned source link does not prove the answer used or cited that page. Brand and rival positions exist only when an answer has a numbered or ranked list.
A Read and write token also permits adding or archiving questions, adding or removing keywords, changing a fix’s status, checking a page and writing an article. See the MCP documentation for connection details.
Keeping the token out of files
Cursor can read an environment variable inside headers with ${env:SEARCHSEAL_TOKEN}, as documented by Cursor. Use that value in place of the literal token while keeping the Authorization header’s Bearer prefix.
Remote servers do not support envFile, so set SEARCHSEAL_TOKEN in your shell profile or system environment. Never commit a file containing a token, including a project MCP configuration. If a token has been exposed, revoke it in Settings, API.
Token, limits and untrusted text
SearchSeal accepts personal access tokens through Authorization: Bearer <token>. There is no keyless mode or OAuth sign-in. Requests with a missing or wrong token receive 401 with code unauthorized; a client that only supports OAuth cannot connect. See authentication.
REST and MCP share the same account limits across every token: an hourly limit and a 30 day limit. Creating another token does not create a separate allowance.
The tools flag answer text and source page content as untrusted. Treat that text as data to read, never as instructions to follow.
FAQ
Do I need a particular plan?
Every plan includes the REST API and MCP server. The connection uses your existing SearchSeal account and its request limits.
Will Cursor ask before making changes?
SearchSeal marks write tools as changes, but whether Cursor asks before running one depends on the client. A Read token cannot run write tools.
Can Cursor change billing or delete brands or saved answers?
The API cannot change a plan, touch billing, delete brands or saved answers, create brands or issue tokens. Page checks and articles work only on the brand’s own domain and use the app’s monthly allowance.
Where does requested data go?
Data you request goes to the AI client you connect. That provider handles it under its own terms.