Let Cursor, Copilot or another agent add monitoring

Any coding agent that supports remote MCP servers can create the Pingstack check for a job it writes. This recipe connects GitHub Copilot or Cursor; the workflow is the same as the Claude Code recipe. Your agent reads the job’s schedule, creates a matching heartbeat check over MCP, and adds a success-only report step that reads the ping URL from a secret you set yourself.

1. Connect your agent

The Pingstack server is a Streamable HTTP server at https://pingstack.io/mcp with browser sign-in. Add it without an Authorization header, then sign in when the client asks. An Owner or Admin approves the connection. Leave heartbeat URL access off, as it is by default: the agent doesn’t need to read ping URLs for this recipe.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Run /mcp add, choose an HTTP server, enter the URL with no headers, and complete the browser sign-in. Or merge this into ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pingstack": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://pingstack.io/mcp",
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

See Copilot and Claude client setup for details.

Cursor

Add the server to ~/.cursor/mcp.json, or to .cursor/mcp.json in a project you don’t commit secrets to:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pingstack": {
      "url": "https://pingstack.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Then open Cursor’s MCP settings and sign in to pingstack.

VS Code with Copilot agent mode

Add the server to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or to your user configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "pingstack": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://pingstack.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Start the server from the file or the MCP server list and sign in.

Client settings change often. If your client’s current documentation differs, follow it. If your client can’t sign in to a remote server, use an API key instead.

2. Confirm the connection

Ask a read-only question first:

Read my Pingstack account capabilities and list my checks. Don’t change anything.

The agent should name the account you approved. If it names a different one, disconnect it in Pingstack settings and connect again.

3. Ask your agent to monitor a job

Look at the nightly export job in .github/workflows/export.yml. Propose a Pingstack heartbeat check that matches its schedule and timezone, with a grace period that covers its runtime. Show me the configuration before you create it.

Review the proposal and confirm. The agent creates the check with create_check. Then ask for the report step:

Add a step that reports success to Pingstack only after the export succeeds, reading the URL from a PINGSTACK_PING_URL secret. Don’t put the URL in the repository.

The agent edits the job using the pattern for your scheduler. Every recipe shows one.

4. Add the secret and confirm the first report

Copy the location’s ping URL from the new check in Pingstack and store it in your job’s secret store yourself. Don’t paste it into the chat. Run the job once, then ask the agent whether the check received a heartbeat and what its next deadline is.

Make it the default for new jobs

Most agents read a project instructions file: .github/copilot-instructions.md for Copilot, .cursor/rules for Cursor, or AGENTS.md for clients that support it. Add:

## Monitoring

When you add or change a scheduled job, propose a matching Pingstack heartbeat
check, show it to me before creating it, and add a success-only report step
that reads its URL from a secret. Never ask me to paste a ping URL into chat.

What the agent can’t do

Agents work within your role’s permissions and your plan’s limits. They can’t delete checks, publish a dashboard, change your plan or buy anything. If you’ve reached your plan’s check limit, create_check fails and the agent should tell you, with the upgrade link Pingstack returns. See the tool reference and safe assistant workflows.

For connection problems, see MCP troubleshooting.