Connect Point-in-Time Stock Data to Cursor

Connect Cursor to Alphanume's key-authenticated MCP endpoint while keeping the API key outside the project repository, then inspect the De-SPAC Events contract before writing code.

Cursor can query Alphanume's point-in-time stock data through a remote MCP server. The safe project workflow is to keep the server definition in Cursor's global configuration and resolve the authentication header from a system environment variable. Your repository receives no API key, and the model still gets structured access to all 25 read-only Alphanume tools.

Cursor uses the API-key endpoint because it is designed for clients that do not complete Alphanume's browser OAuth flow. That endpoint serves the same tools and deterministic REST-backed records as the OAuth endpoint. It does not create a second copy of the data or bypass the access attached to the key.

Store the key outside the repository

Create an environment variable named ALPHANUME_API_KEY in the operating-system environment used to launch Cursor. Then place this configuration in ~/.cursor/mcp.json, the global user file, rather than a project's .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alphanume": {
      "url": "https://mcp.alphanume.com/key/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-API-Key": "${env:ALPHANUME_API_KEY}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor's documented MCP interpolation resolves ${env:NAME} in remote-server headers. Restart Cursor after setting the variable so the desktop process inherits it. The global file remains on your machine and is not committed with a project. The Alphanume MCP documentation lists the key-auth endpoint, and the official Cursor MCP documentation covers configuration locations and environment interpolation.

Verify the connection before asking for research

Open Cursor's MCP settings and confirm that the Alphanume server is enabled. Then ask the agent to call check_api_status. A 401 response usually means the environment variable was missing from Cursor's process, the key was copied incorrectly into the environment, or the header was not interpolated. Do not move the raw key into a tracked JSON file to make the error disappear.

All 25 tools are discoverable across tiers. Free access exposes the trailing 20 trading sessions after a one-session delay, while Pro provides current observations and full history. Tool discovery therefore verifies registration, while a successful data request verifies authentication and access to that requested window.

Keeping the secret in an inherited environment variable also makes credential rotation local: update the variable, restart Cursor, and rerun the status check without editing application code or a tracked project file.

Inspect De-SPAC parameters before writing code

The De-SPAC Events tool is useful for checking whether Cursor understands an event dataset before it generates an integration. It records completed SPAC business combinations identified from SEC filings. It accepts an exact date or date-range filters and returns core event evidence plus enriched identity, listing, and transaction fields. Read the De-SPAC Events documentation alongside the tool schema.

Use only the Alphanume MCP server.

Inspect get_de_spac_events before writing any code. Report:
1. Every accepted date filter and the max_rows control.
2. The core fields date, ticker, filing_url, confidence, and evidence_quote.
3. Five enriched fields useful for a post-completion study.
4. Which enriched fields may be null and why.

Then query one recent date available to my account. Return the raw response envelope and exact filters. Do not generate an event conclusion from a missing field.

Keep point-in-time claims narrow

A completion record gives Cursor a dated event and its disclosed context. It does not supply subsequent returns, borrow availability, or proof that a de-SPAC strategy works. Join any later price or capitalization data using an explicit information cutoff. A current ticker map applied to an old cohort can leak later identity information, while substituting current market cap for historical market cap can move companies across size thresholds after the fact.

• Do not treat a confidence score as the probability that a trade succeeds.
• Do not replace null transaction economics with estimates unless the estimate is separately sourced and labeled.
• Do not interpret trading commencement, closing, effective, and filing dates as interchangeable.
• Do not let Cursor write a production client until the inspected filters match the intended cohort definition.

Move from inspection to implementation

Save the inspected tool contract, one raw response, and the exact date filter in the project. Only then ask Cursor to generate the REST or MCP integration and tests for the same request. Compare the generated field names against the docs before accepting the code. For background on keeping historical research affordable without sacrificing information timing, read Point-in-Time Market Data on a Student Budget. Obtain or review API access on the pricing page before requesting a wider event history.