Can I use Cursor to write a book?

Yes — Built&Written is an MCP server that Cursor can connect to. Ask Cursor in chat to read, draft or revise chapters. The book lives in your Built&Written project, not in editor buffers.

What's the difference between writing a book in Cursor and in Claude.ai?

Cursor gives you IDE-grade tooling — file-level edits, multi-buffer review, diff view. Claude.ai is faster for plain-English direction. Both share the same Built&Written project.

How do I write a programming book with AI?

Connect Built&Written to Cursor (or Cline / Continue.dev) as an MCP server. Outline chapters in chat, generate drafts in the background, then review and edit each subchapter directly in the IDE before exporting to KDP-ready PDF or EPUB.

Is there an MCP server for writing books?

Yes — Built&Written is an MCP server for writing books that works in Cursor, Cline, Continue.dev and Claude. Same endpoint, same tool surface.

Does Built&Written see my code?

No. Your code stays in your IDE workspace. Built&Written only reads and writes book content — chapters, subchapters and metadata in your account.

Can I export to O'Reilly or DocBook?

Currently PDF, EPUB and DOCX. DocBook export is on the roadmap. KDP-compliant trim sizes are built in.

Does it work in Cline or Continue.dev?

Yes — same Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint and the same tool surface. Full setup is at builtwritten.com/mcp.

Not a dedicated one. Any MCP-compatible CLI client connects to the same endpoint.

MCP for IDEs · Cursor · Cline · Continue.dev

Write your engineering book in your IDE.

Built&Written is an MCP server for writers — connect it to Cursor, Cline or Continue.dev and ask your IDE to outline, draft, revise and export your technical book or handbook.

Start writing MCP setup →

Same MCP endpoint everywhere — no IDE-specific config.

Cursor · MCP · Built&Writtenchapter-3.md

1# Chapter 3 — Error budgets for shipping

2// chat — Built&Written

3> rewrite chapter 3 to be more concrete

tool · start_ai_rewriteaccepted

Replacing 4 subchapters with a more concrete revision. Running in background.

7+When the burn rate stays under 2%…

8+…you can ship anything that compiles.

Works with

Standard MCP server — connect Built&Written to any MCP-compatible AI client.

Why write a book in your IDE?

Can I write a book inside Cursor?

If you write code for a living, you probably already write longer drafts faster in Cursor than in any web app. Built&Written's MCP server lets you keep that flow — and ship to KDP at the end.

IDE-grade editing

Diff view, multi-buffer review, keybindings you already know — applied to chapter content, not source files.

Code stays in your workspace

Built&Written only sees book content. Your repos, dotfiles and snippets are never read.

Same endpoint, every client

One Streamable HTTP MCP URL works in Cursor, Cline, Continue.dev — and Claude on the side.

Setup — pick your client

Two-minute setup for Cursor, Cline or Continue.dev.

Same Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint, same bearer token. Switch clients freely — the book project stays put.

Remote MCP is brokered through your Claude account — same steps in claude.ai, Claude Desktop, Cowork, and mobile. No terminal and no API key on this path.

Open Connectors in Claude

Launch claude.ai or Claude Desktop, then go to Customize → Connectors. On Pro/Max, click + then Add custom connector. Team/Enterprise owners add the URL under Organization settings first; members then connect from the same Connectors page.

Paste the Built&Written MCP URL

Name the connector Built&Written (or any label you like), then paste:

MCP server URL

https://mcp.builtwritten.com/mcp

Connect and sign in to Built&Written

Click Add, then Connect when prompted. Sign in to your Built&Written account and approve access — OAuth handles auth; Claude never sees your password.

Enable the connector in a chat

In the composer, use + → Connectors and toggle on BuiltWritten for the conversations where you want book tools.

Try it

Ask: "List my books" or "Show me the outline of my latest book"— Claude will call Built&Written tools automatically.

Revoke access: disconnect in Claude's Connectors settings, or remove the app under Built&Written → Settings → Connected Apps.

MCP setup →

Tool reference

What the IDE can actually do.

A subset of the 30+ MCP tools — the ones Cursor users reach for first. Full list lives in /mcp.

get_contentRead text for one chapter at a time.
patch_subchapter_contentReplace one subchapter's text in place.
start_ai_rewriteRewrite a subchapter with an action: shorten, expand, simplify, revoice.
start_export_pdfGenerate a print-ready KDP-formatted PDF and return a signed URL.

When NOT to use Built&Written in Cursor

We’re not for every book.

Pure fiction with heavy structure
We optimize for non-fiction, technical and business books. Multi-POV novels need a different tool.
Reference books with live code
Built&Written stores prose. If your book is 80% executable notebooks, use a Quarto / Jupyter pipeline.
Internal docs that must live in the repo
If your book is part of your codebase (Docusaurus, MDX in repo), keep it there. Use us when you want PDF / KDP / EPUB output.
Strict house style with bespoke tooling
If you already have an O'Reilly / Manning workflow, our exports aren't a drop-in. Use us pre-acquisition.

Frequently asked

Writing a book in Cursor — answered.

Yes — Built&Written is an MCP server that Cursor can connect to. Ask Cursor in chat to read, draft or revise chapters. The book lives in your Built&Written project, not in editor buffers.
Cursor gives you IDE-grade tooling — file-level edits, multi-buffer review, diff view. Claude.ai is faster for plain-English direction. Both share the same Built&Written project.
Connect Built&Written to Cursor (or Cline / Continue.dev) as an MCP server. Outline chapters in chat, generate drafts in the background, then review and edit each subchapter directly in the IDE before exporting to KDP-ready PDF or EPUB.
Yes — Built&Written is an MCP server for writing books that works in Cursor, Cline, Continue.dev and Claude. Same endpoint, same tool surface.
No. Your code stays in your IDE workspace. Built&Written only reads and writes book content — chapters, subchapters and metadata in your account.
Currently PDF, EPUB and DOCX. DocBook export is on the roadmap. KDP-compliant trim sizes are built in.
Yes — same Streamable HTTP MCP endpoint and the same tool surface. Full setup is at builtwritten.com/mcp.
Not a dedicated one. Any MCP-compatible CLI client connects to the same endpoint.

Prefer Claude or ChatGPT? — Claude · ChatGPT · Pricing

Ship your engineering book.

Free to start. Two-minute MCP setup for Cursor, Cline or Continue.dev.

Create your account MCP setup →