Cutline

Setup Guide

Connect Cutline to Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, and other AI-powered tools using MCP.

MCP Setup Guide

Connect Cutline's AI product management capabilities directly to your IDE or AI assistant using the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Watch the Demo

What is MCP?

MCP is an open protocol that enables AI assistants to securely access external tools and data sources. With Cutline's MCP integration, you can:

  • Generate pre-mortems without leaving your IDE
  • Chat with AI personas about your code and features
  • Load and edit project wikis
  • Create issues from analysis results

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  1. Active Cutline Premium subscription - Upgrade here if needed
  2. Node.js 18+ installed - Download Node.js
  3. An MCP-compatible client - Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, or Antigravity

Step 1: Install the Cutline MCP CLI

Install the Cutline MCP client globally from npm:

npm install -g @kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp-cli

Verify the installation:

cutline-mcp --help

You should see:

Usage: cutline-mcp [options] [command]

CLI tool for authenticating with Cutline MCP servers

Options:
  -V, --version   output the version number
  -h, --help      display help for command

Commands:
  login           Authenticate with Cutline
  logout          Remove stored credentials
  status          Check authentication status
  help [command]  display help for command

Step 2: Authenticate

Run the login command to authenticate with your Cutline account:

cutline-mcp login

This will:

  1. Open your browser to Cutline's authentication page
  2. Prompt you to authorize MCP access
  3. Securely store credentials in your system keychain

Verify your authentication:

cutline-mcp status

You should see:

✓ Authenticated
  User: you@example.com
  UID: abc123...
  Token expires in: 55 minutes

Step 3: Configure Your MCP Client

Choose your IDE and follow the setup instructions below.

Cursor

  1. Open Cursor Settings (Cmd+, on Mac, Ctrl+, on Windows/Linux)

  2. Navigate to Features → MCP Servers

  3. Click "Edit in mcp.json" or open ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly

  4. Add the Cutline servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cutline-premortem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "premortem"]
    },
    "cutline-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "tools"]
    }
  }
}

  1. Restart Cursor completely

  2. Verify - Open the MCP panel and confirm "cutline-premortem" and "cutline-tools" appear as connected servers

Claude Desktop

  1. Open the config file:

    macOS:

    open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

    Windows:

    notepad %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

  2. Add Cutline servers:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cutline-premortem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "premortem"]
    },
    "cutline-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "tools"]
    },
    "cutline-output": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "output"]
    }
  }
}

  1. Restart Claude Desktop

  2. Verify - Look for the 🔌 MCP icon in the chat interface

Windsurf

  1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P or Ctrl+Shift+P)

  2. Search for "Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)"

  3. Add MCP configuration:

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "cutline-premortem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "premortem"]
    },
    "cutline-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp", "tools"]
    }
  }
}
  1. Reload Windsurf

Antigravity

  1. Open Settings → MCP Servers

  2. Click "Add Server" → "Custom Server"

  3. Configure:

    • Name: cutline-premortem
    • Command: npx
    • Args: -y @kylewadegrove/cutline-mcp premortem

  4. Repeat for cutline-tools and cutline-output as needed

  5. Save and reload

Step 4: Test Your Setup

Once configured, try these commands in your AI assistant:

Generate a Pre-mortem

Generate a premortem for launching a B2B SaaS analytics platform
targeting mid-market companies with a 3-month timeline.

List Your Pre-mortems

Show me my recent premortems

Chat with a Persona

What does my persona Debra think about adding a mobile app?

Load a Project Wiki

Load the wiki for my current project and summarize the key risks

Available MCP Servers

Cutline provides 4 specialized MCP servers:

| Server | Purpose | Key Tools | |--------|---------|-----------| | cutline-premortem | Pre-mortem generation & management | premortem.run, premortem.list, premortem.status | | cutline-tools | Personas, wikis, and AI chat | personas.chat, wiki.load, wiki.save, agent.chat | | cutline-output | PDF generation and Q&A | premortem.render_pdf, premortem.qa_answer | | cutline-integrations | External tool connections | integrations.create_issues |

For most users, cutline-premortem and cutline-tools provide the core functionality.

Troubleshooting

"Authentication required" error

Run the login command:

cutline-mcp login

"Premium subscription required" error

MCP access requires an active Premium subscription. Upgrade your account.

MCP servers not appearing

  1. Verify the CLI is installed: cutline-mcp --version
  2. Check that paths in your config are correct
  3. Restart your MCP client completely
  4. Check the client's logs for error messages

Token expired after 1 hour

Tokens auto-refresh, but if you see this error:

cutline-mcp logout
cutline-mcp login

"Command not found: npx"

Make sure Node.js is installed and in your PATH:

node --version  # Should show v18 or higher
npm --version   # Should show 8 or higher

Best Practices

Start Simple

Begin with just cutline-premortem and add other servers as needed.

Use Descriptive Prompts

The AI works best with clear, detailed prompts:

✅ Good:

Generate a premortem for a mobile grocery delivery app targeting 
urban millennials, launching in 6 months with a $2M budget

❌ Vague:

Make a premortem

Check Status Regularly

Before starting work:

cutline-mcp status

Getting Help

Next Steps

MCP Tool Reference