Use Mission Control MCP Server in Cursor

Overview

This tutorial explains how to run the isaac_mission_control MCP server (mission_control_mcp) and connect it to Cursor. This allows you to control robot missions using natural language prompts in Cursor’s AI chat.

It uses direct MCP configuration in ~/.cursor/mcp.json and does not require a .env file.

Tutorial Walkthrough

1. Clone the isaac_mission_control repository:

   git clone https://github.com/nvidia-isaac/isaac_mission_control.git
   cd isaac_mission_control
   

2. Confirm prerequisites:

   • Ubuntu/Linux environment (validated on Ubuntu 24.04)

   • Python 3.10+

   • Cursor installed (v2.4+ recommended)

   • Install and launch Isaac Sim using the Isaac ROS Isaac Sim Setup Guide

   • isaac_mission_control services already launched using: Mission Control Tutorial (this bringup starts both isaac_mission_control and isaac_mission_dispatch)

   • The Isaac Sim setup and isaac_mission_control tutorial bringup can be done in parallel.

3. Verify isaac_mission_control health:

   curl http://localhost:8050/api/v1/health
   

4. Set up the MCP package from your isaac_mission_control clone:

   cd app/agentic-utilities/mission-control-mcp
   python3 -m venv venv
   ./venv/bin/python -m pip install -U pip
   ./venv/bin/python -m pip install -e .
   

5. Configure Cursor MCP directly in ~/.cursor/mcp.json (or use Cursor Settings -> Tools & MCP, which writes this file).

   

   

   Add or update this server entry with your real local paths:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "mission-control": {
         "command": "bash",
         "args": [
           "-lc",
           "set -euo pipefail; cd \"/ABS/PATH/TO/isaac_mission_control/app/agentic-utilities/mission-control-mcp\" && exec \"/ABS/PATH/TO/isaac_mission_control/app/agentic-utilities/mission-control-mcp/venv/bin/python\" -m mission_control_mcp.server"
         ],
         "env": {
           "MISSION_CONTROL_URL": "http://localhost:8050"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

   Note

   Replace /ABS/PATH/TO/isaac_mission_control with your actual path. If isaac_mission_control is remote or port-forwarded, update MISSION_CONTROL_URL accordingly.

6. Enable the mission-control server in Cursor Settings -> Tools & MCP.

7. Start a new chat and ask:

   Use Mission Control MCP to test the connection.

   If configured correctly, the server responds with a successful connection result.

   

Isaac Mission Control 4.3.0 Limitations

The following isaac_mission_control MCP tools are not supported in Isaac Mission Control 4.3.0:

MCP Tool	Ready for Isaac Mission Control 4.3.0
submit_charging_mission	No
submit_undock_mission	No
get_detected_objects	No
get_detected_apriltags	No
visualize_route	No
get_map_info	No
list_available_maps	No
select_map	No
deploy_map_to_robot	No
submit_objective	No
cancel_objective	No
submit_pick_and_place	No

Troubleshooting

Connection Refused

• Confirm isaac_mission_control is reachable at the configured MISSION_CONTROL_URL.

Tools Do Not Appear

• Disable/re-enable the MCP server in Cursor settings.

• Start a new chat.

• Restart Cursor.

Check Server Logs

• /tmp/mission_control_mcp.log

Implementation References

• MCP server tools: app/agentic-utilities/mission-control-mcp/src/server.py

• isaac_mission_control API client used by MCP: app/agentic-utilities/mission-control-mcp/src/queries.py