Cursor + xCloud

Run Docker apps with Cursor on xCloud

Running Docker apps with Cursor means asking the editor's agent to read the Dockerfile or Compose file you have open, check it against xCloud's scan, fix what would not deploy and ship it to a Docker server after one approval.

Skill: xcloud:deploy
Toolsets: sites, servers
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Cursor All Cursor guides

YouDeploy this repo to my Frankfurt Docker server. Check the compose ports first.

git_compose-scanread-only

AgentThe scan on main shows web publishing 80:80. xCloud owns port 80, so this would be refused. I changed the mapping to 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 in docker-compose.yml. Commit and push it, then I will scan again.

YouPushed. Go on.

servers_sites_git_dockerdry run

AgentDry run resolved: port 8080, compose file docker-compose.yml, no warnings. Create the site on Frankfurt?

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Cursor to Run Docker apps on xCloud?

Connect Cursor once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add xCloud to mcp.json with the compact URL
Cursor stops at 40 tools per server, and the full xCloud server advertises one tool per customer-facing operation, so start with the compact profile: five tools that still reach every operation. Put this in ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects, or .cursor/mcp.json inside one project.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact"
    }
  }
}
```
2
Or add it from Cursor's MCP settings
Cursor's docs manage MCP servers from the Customize page. Add a new server there and paste the compact URL instead of editing the file. Use the plain https://app.xcloud.host/mcp URL only if your Cursor version loads every tool.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact
```
3
Sign in to xCloud
Cursor supports OAuth for remote servers and shows a login prompt next to xcloud. Click it, approve the teams and choose Read-only or Full access in the browser, then ask this to confirm.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```

Check it worked

Then ask Cursor for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Compare the ports in this docker-compose.yml with what xCloud's scan finds on main and tell me which port it would use.

In practice

How Does Docker apps Work from Cursor?

The Compose file is usually already open in a tab when you ask. Cursor's agent reads it, sees the services and the ports mapping, and asks xCloud for the same picture through git_compose-scan so the two can be compared. When they differ, for example because you changed the ports line and have not pushed, the agent says so before it does anything else. When the file is the problem, the fix is an edit in the editor you are already looking at: a mapping of 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 instead of 80:80, or a build section instead of an image from a private registry. You review the change as you would any agent edit, commit it and push, and then ask for the scan again.

The xCloud connection has one thing specific to Cursor. Cursor stops at 40 tools, so this page assumes the compact URL, which serves five tools: two search tools and three executors split by what a call does. The agent asks the search tool for the Docker workflow and then runs git_detect, git_compose-scan, the Docker create dry run and the later status and backup calls through the executors. You do not see 188 separate entries in the tool list, but the confirmation rule is the same. The dry run comes back with the compose file, port, address and warnings, and the real create waits for your yes.

After launch the same editor session covers the upkeep. Ask it to take a Docker backup before you upgrade a base image and it runs sites_docker_backup, with the warning that the app stops while the snapshot is captured. If a push triggers a redeploy that fails, the agent reads sites_deploy-diagnosis, proposes a correction to the build settings or to the Compose file in your tree, and retries on the same site after you approve. A redeploy runs git reset --hard and git clean -df in the site directory, so anything changed by hand on the server is gone, which is another reason to keep the fix in the repository.

Cursor specific: With the compact URL, the xCloud operations run through executor tools and are not listed one by one in Cursor's tool panel, so do not look for a tool called git_compose-scan there. Ask the agent to scan and watch for its tool call output instead. Also remember that a project .cursor/mcp.json travels with the repository, so keep any API token out of it and use OAuth.

What xCloud does for docker apps

xCloud reads the repository, scans the Compose file for services and ports before anything is created, previews the site with a dry run and deploys it behind its own nginx once you approve. Docker sites can be backed up on demand and on a schedule, and a failed deploy is diagnosed and retried on the same site.

Pick a Docker server. The agent uses the server you name, or lists your servers and asks. A Docker deploy needs a Docker server; any other stack answers with an incompatible_server refusal, and an agentic server never takes a second site. WordPress is not supported on Docker servers.
Detect the repository. git_detect reads the repository root for a Dockerfile or one of the four Compose file names, and checks access and server compatibility. It creates nothing, and an access problem is never worked around by naming an app type by hand.
Scan the Compose file. git_compose-scan runs before the dry run. It lists the services and the host ports the file publishes, resolves which Compose file name it found, and suggests a primary port. The agent never guesses the port.
Dry run, then one approval. The agent sends the Docker create request with dry_run set to true and shows the resolved configuration: compose file, port, address and warnings. It asks once, naming the server and the URL, before sending the same body with confirm set to true and an idempotency key.
Poll and verify. A 202 means queued, not running. The agent polls the site status until it is terminal, reads failed_steps and the SSL block, and fetches the URL before it calls the app live. A 502 here usually means the Compose file publishes no port.
Back up and recover. The agent can take a Docker backup, read the backup list and settings, and add a note to a backup. If a deploy fails it reads the diagnosis, proposes a fix from the correctable fields and retries on the same site after your approval. Restoring a backup is a dashboard step.

Reference

Docker apps Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Cursor works within when it runs Docker apps. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Supported inputs	A Dockerfile for a single container, or a Compose file for one or more services, on a Docker server. Go, Python, Rust and Java apps all deploy this way
Server stack	Docker servers only. The Docker deploy on any other stack, including an agentic server, answers 422 with the code incompatible_server
Which Compose file runs	docker-compose.yml at the repository root. A file named compose.yaml, compose.yml or docker-compose.yaml, or one in a subdirectory, deploys through the pinned Docker create with docker.compose_file set to the path the scan resolved
Public port	xCloud's nginx owns ports 80 and 443 and proxies to one host port of 1024 or higher on 127.0.0.1. xCloud runs your Compose file as-is and never rewrites its ports mapping
Port refusals	A port another site already holds is refused as port_unavailable. A port the file does not publish is refused as port_not_published, with the published ports listed
No published port	A Compose file that publishes no port is accepted and then answers 502, so the scan is the step that catches it
Private registries	The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so an image from a private registry cannot be pulled. Build the image from source instead
Environment and redeploys	Send environment values through env_file_content. A redeploy runs git reset --hard and git clean -df in the site directory, so uncommitted server-side changes are lost
What a Docker backup holds	Named volumes, eligible bind mounts, the Compose file and the app's .env, in an encrypted snapshot. The app is stopped while the backup captures and restarted afterwards
Backup tools	Take a backup, list backups, read the count and the settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Remote copies go to a storage provider you add in the dashboard
Restores	A restore replaces the app's data in place, so it stays a dashboard step: Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore Backup
Dot-prefixed paths	A 403 on a path that starts with a dot is the dot-path allowlist. It is fixed with docker.allowed_dot_paths in the deploy settings, without a rebuild

Rules Cursor has to follow

The Compose file is scanned before the dry run, and the port always comes from the scan, never from a guess.
A file that binds ports 80 or 443, publishes no port or pulls from a private registry is not deployed as-is. The agent shows the rewrite, such as publishing 127.0.0.1:<high port>:<app port> and building the image from source, and the change goes into your repository.
Creating a site, deploying, redeploying and deleting a backup stop for your approval. A backup runs without a separate prompt but stops the app while it captures, so ask for one at a quiet time.
A failed Docker site is retried in place with corrections. It is never deleted and recreated, because it keeps its domain and port.
Restoring a backup, adding a backup storage provider and changing a live site's domain are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path and the dashboard link xCloud returned.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Cursor to Do for Docker apps?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

Compare the ports in this docker-compose.yml with what xCloud's scan finds on main and tell me which port it would use.

Prompt

Fix the ports mapping so it binds 127.0.0.1 on a high port, then deploy this repo to my Frankfurt Docker server. Dry run first.

Prompt

Take a Docker backup of notes.example.com before I merge the image upgrade, and tell me when it finishes.

Prompt

Scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use.

Prompt

Deploy github.com/acme/shop to the Frankfurt Docker server as a Compose app. Scan the compose file first, show me the services and ports, then wait for my approval before creating anything.

Prompt

Deploy the main branch of github.com/acme/api to my Docker server as a Compose app on a staging hostname.

Prompt

My Compose app on notes.example.com answers 502. Check which port its compose file publishes and which port xCloud is using.

Prompt

Take a backup of the Docker app on notes.example.com now, before I upgrade it, and tell me when it is done.

Prompt

Show the backup settings and the last backup of every Docker app on this team, and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

The last deploy of the API site failed. Diagnose it, show me the settings I can correct, fix the build command and retry on the same site.

Cursor and Docker apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Cursor run Docker apps through xCloud.

Does Cursor need the compact URL to run Docker apps on xCloud?

Use it unless your Cursor version loads every tool. The full xCloud server has more operations than Cursor's 40-tool cap, and the compact URL at https://app.xcloud.host/mcp?profile=compact still reaches the scan, the Docker create and the backup calls.

Can Cursor edit my Compose file and redeploy in one go?

It can edit the file and propose the commit, but xCloud deploys what is on the remote branch. Push the change first, let the agent scan again, then approve the redeploy. Uncommitted edits in your editor are not part of the scan.

Which servers can run a Docker app on xCloud?

Docker servers. Node.js, PHP and static builds use Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed servers, and the Docker deploy on any other stack is refused with an incompatible_server code. An OpenClaw, Hermes, Paperclip or DeepSeek Harness server hosts only the site created at provisioning, so it takes no Docker app.

Why does the agent scan the Compose file before deploying?

xCloud proxies to the host port your file publishes and never rewrites it. The scan lists the services and ports, so the agent picks a port that is free on the server and published by the file instead of guessing.

Why does my Compose app answer 502 after it deployed?

The most common cause is a Compose file that publishes no port: xCloud accepts it, then its nginx has nothing to proxy to. Publish the app on 127.0.0.1 with a high port, such as 127.0.0.1:8080:8080, and redeploy.

Can an agent deploy an image from a private registry?

Not as-is. The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so a private image cannot be pulled. Build the image from source in the Compose file, or deploy a repository that does.

Can an agent back up and restore a Docker app?

It can take a backup, read the backup list and settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Restoring replaces the app's data in place, so you do that in the dashboard under Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups.

Can I run WordPress as a Docker app on xCloud?

No. Creating a WordPress site on a Docker server is refused because WordPress is not supported on Docker servers. Use an Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed server for WordPress.

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