Guides

Setting Up Cursor for Shopify Theme Development

A step-by-step guide to setting up your local development environment with Cursor for Shopify development, including MCP servers, Node.js, Git, and GitHub configuration.

The biggest impact on my developer growth journey wasn’t learning a new framework. It was finally ditching the online code editor within Shopify and using a standalone code editor. I started with VS Code and recently jumped to Cursor. As I started training developers for my agency, I realized I needed to document this process. So here’s my exact setup guide, turned into my first blog post.

1. Cursor Setup

Download & Install Cursor

Download Cursor

Once installed, open Cursor and follow the steps below to set up MCPs.

Add MCP Servers

In Cursor:

  1. Click Settings
  2. Go to Cursor Settings → Tools & MCP
  3. Click New MCP Server

This will open a file called mcp.json. Inside that file, paste the following code:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "Figma Desktop": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3845/mcp",
      "headers": {}
    },
    "Shopify": {
      "command": "npx -y @shopify/dev-mcp@latest",
      "env": {},
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

This connects Cursor to both the Figma Desktop MCP and the Shopify developer docs MCP.

Optional: Figma Web MCP

To also use the web version of Figma:

"Figma": {
  "url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp",
  "headers": {}
}

Note

You may need the Figma desktop or web app open for the connection to work. Save your mcp.json file and restart Cursor if the connection doesn’t show up right away.

2. Install Node and Git

2.1 Node.js

Shopify CLI requires Node 18 or newer.

macOS

If you use Homebrew:

brew install node

Or download the installer directly from nodejs.org

Windows

Download Node.js for Windows and run the installer.

Verify Node Installation

node -v
npm -v

If you don’t see version numbers, restart your terminal.

2.2 Git

Git is required for all development work.

macOS

To check if Git is installed:

git --version

If it’s missing, macOS will prompt you to install Command Line Tools. Or use Homebrew:

brew install git

Windows

Download Git for Windows

After installation, verify:

git --version

3. Create a GitHub Account

If you already have one, skip this step.

Otherwise:

  1. Go to github.com
  2. Click Sign Up
  3. Use your preferred email
  4. Pick a simple username (ideally your real name or a variation)

After your account is created:

  • Share your GitHub email or username with your team
  • Accept any org invites
  • You’ll now be able to clone repos, push branches, and open pull requests

4. Configure Git

Before you start working on any project, configure Git with your identity:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

4.1 Why This Matters

  • Commits will show under your GitHub profile
  • PRs will be linked to your account
  • Teams can see who wrote what
  • Avoids “unknown author” commits

Skipping this step can result in disconnected or anonymous commit history.

4.2 GitHub Authentication

Authentication typically happens automatically when you sign into GitHub through Cursor. Cursor uses GitHub OAuth, which should prevent repeated login prompts on the command line.

If you ever run into:

  • Git asking for username/password
  • Cloning or pushing failures

You may need to set up GitHub Desktop or a personal access token.

You’re all set to start developing Shopify themes locally. If you hit any snags with this setup or have questions, feel free to reach out. I’ll be writing more about my Shopify development workflow as I continue documenting my team’s processes.