Set up pAIrImprover

Get in-chat quality nudges while you code with AI.
3 steps. Tokens stay in your terminal, not in chat.

Add MCP server to your IDE

Open your IDE's MCP configuration and add the pAIrImprover server. This works with any MCP-compatible tool (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Lovable, and others). -y skips prompts; pairimprover-mcp@latest targets the latest published MCP (clear npx cache if an old version sticks). When we ship updates, re-paste step 1, re-download step 2, and restart the IDE.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pairimprover": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "pairimprover-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Where to paste this?

Cursor: Settings > MCP > Add new global MCP server
Windsurf: Settings > MCP Configuration
VS Code: Add to your MCP settings (requires MCP extension)
Lovable: Settings > MCP Servers > Add custom server
Claude Code CLI: run the command below in a terminal (adds the MCP server; use --scope user to apply everywhere):

claude mcp add --transport stdio pairimprover -- npx -y pairimprover-mcp@latest

Then add CLAUDE.md to your project root (see step 2). See Claude Code MCP docs.

Stuck on an old MCP version? Clear the npx cache

After updating the config above, if the IDE still runs an older pairimprover-mcp, delete the npx cache folder and restart the IDE.

macOS / Linux (Terminal)

rm -rf ~/.npm/_npx

Windows (PowerShell)

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\npm-cache\_npx" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Windows (Command Prompt)

rmdir /s /q %LOCALAPPDATA%\\npm-cache\\_npx

Not sure where npm stores cache? Run npm config get cache and remove the _npx folder inside that directory.

Add the rule (Cursor or Claude Code)recommended

Cursor: download pairimprover.mdc and save as .cursor/rules/pairimprover.mdc. Claude Code: download CLAUDE.md to your project root (same instructions inside; no frontmatter). The rule tells the AI to run quality checks after code changes.

Download pairimprover.mdc SKILL.md (other IDEs)CLAUDE.md (Claude Code)

Cursor loads project rules from .cursor/rules/*.mdc with alwaysApply: true in the file. Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md in the repo root. Other tools may use the SKILL.md variant instead.

Sign in (terminal)

Run this once in a terminal (any folder). It opens GitHub in your browser and saves your token to ~/.pairimprover/config.json — the same file the MCP server reads. Do not paste JWTs into AI chat (chat history can retain them).

npx -y pairimprover-cli login --github

Requires Node 18+. First run may download the package via npx. After login, open a new IDE chat or ask the AI to run the pairimprover health tool again.

Advanced: sign in in browser only

If you cannot use the CLI, you can sign in with GitHub here and paste the token into the IDE using the MCP login tool — only if you accept the risk of tokens in chat logs.

Open GitHub sign-in (token on success page)

Free tier: unlimited quality checks during public beta

After setup

Restart your IDE if you changed MCP config, then open a new AI chat. On the first reply, the AI calls health (local check). If you are not signed in, it will point you at npx -y pairimprover-cli login --github in a terminal. After login, start a new chat — quality suggestions appear automatically after code changes.

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Questions? hello@pairimprover.com