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Accelerate AEM Content Operations Using the Content MCP Server

Last update: Mon Mar 09 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Applies to:
Experience Manager as a Cloud Service

CREATED FOR:

Beginner
Leader
User
Developer

Use the Content MCP Server from an AI-powered IDE such as Cursor IDE to work with AEM content in natural language, no low-level API code or UI navigation.

In this tutorial you review Adventure content fragment details, update a fragment (for example, an adventure’s price), and verify the change in the WKND Adventures React app all from your IDE against a lower AEM environment (RDE or Development) without leaving the MCP flow.

https://video.tv.adobe.com/v/3480895/?learn=on&enablevpops

Overview

AEM as a Cloud Service provides MCP Servers so your IDE or chat app can work with AEM securely. The Content MCP Server supports pages, fragments, and assets. See MCP Servers in AEM for more information.

How Developers Can Use It

Connect the Cursor IDE to the Content MCP Server and run the scenario below.

Setup - Content MCP Server in Cursor

Let’s set up the Content MCP Server in Cursor with these steps.

Open Cursor on your machine.
Go to Settings > Cursor Settings from the Cursor menu to open the settings window.
In the left sidebar, click Tools & MCP to open that panel.

Click Add Custom MCP or New MCP Server to open mcp.json, then paste in this configuration:

code language-json

code language-json
`{ "mcpServers": { // Use this for create, read, update, and delete operations "AEM-RDE-Content": { "url": "https://mcp.adobeaemcloud.com/adobe/mcp/content" }, //Use this for read-only operations "AEM-RDE-Content-Read-Only": { "url": "https://mcp.adobeaemcloud.com/adobe/mcp/content-readonly" } } }`

{
    "mcpServers": {
        // Use this for create, read, update, and delete operations
        "AEM-RDE-Content": {
            "url": "https://mcp.adobeaemcloud.com/adobe/mcp/content"
        },
        //Use this for read-only operations
        "AEM-RDE-Content-Read-Only": {
            "url": "https://mcp.adobeaemcloud.com/adobe/mcp/content-readonly"
        }
    }
}

note caution
CAUTION
For tutorial purpose, the above configuration adds both Content and Content (read-only) for this tutorial. In practice, Content already includes everything Content (read-only) offers, plus create/update/delete tools.
If you want to avoid any possibility of creating, modifying, or deleting content, configure only Content (read-only) (`/content-readonly`) and omit Content (`/content`). That way you avoid accidental changes.

Add AEM MCP Server

From the Cursor Settings window, click Connect to initiate the authentication process. It uses the OAuth 2.0 PKCE flow to get the User Specific Access Token to access the AEM MCP Server.
Sign in with your Adobe ID, then come back to the Cursor Settings window.
Confirm that AEM-RDE-Content-Read-Only and AEM-RDE-Content show as connected. You can expand each server to see its tools.

Setup - WKND Adventures React App

Next, set up the WKND Adventures React App in Cursor.

Clone these two repos on your machine:

code language-bash

code language-bash
## WKND GraphQL repo, the `react-app` folder is the WKND Adventures app $ git clone git@github.com:adobe/aem-guides-wknd-graphql.git ## WKND Site repo, you deploy this to RDE so the app can use its content fragments data via GraphQL $ git clone git@github.com:adobe/aem-guides-wknd.git

## WKND GraphQL repo, the `react-app` folder is the WKND Adventures app
$ git clone git@github.com:adobe/aem-guides-wknd-graphql.git

## WKND Site repo, you deploy this to RDE so the app can use its content fragments data via GraphQL
$ git clone git@github.com:adobe/aem-guides-wknd.git

Deploy the WKND Site project to your RDE. For detailed steps, see How to use the Rapid Development Environment.
Open the react-app folder in your IDE.
Edit .env.development and set:
- REACT_APP_HOST_URI: your RDE Author URL
- REACT_APP_AUTH_METHOD: to be basic
- REACT_APP_BASIC_AUTH_USER and REACT_APP_AEM_AUTH_PASSWORD: to be aem-headless (create this user in RDE and add it to the administrators group)

From the IDE terminal, run:

code language-bash
`$ cd aem-guides-wknd-graphql/react-app $ npm install $ npm start`

In your browser, go to http://localhost:3000 to view the WKND Adventures app.

Productivity Scenario - AEM Content review and update

Suppose you need to show a HOT DEAL banner on Adventure cards when a simple rule is met. The usual approach would be:

Look at the Adventure cards component code
Add the logic for when to show the banner
Check the Adventure content fragment model in AEM
Change one or more Adventure fragment properties to test the rule

To keep things simple, let’s show the HOT DEAL banner when the adventure’s price is under $100.

Because the React app gets its data from your RDE environment, you need to know the Adventure content fragment model and then update the right fragment properties. That is exactly what the AEM Content MCP Server can help with. Here is how.

In Cursor, open a new chat and type:

code language-text
`I want to review my Content Fragment Models from AEM RDE, can you list the Adventure Content Fragment details.`

Review Content Fragment Models

Before invoking the Content MCP Server, it asks for confirmation to proceed. Thus, you stay in control of the content operations.

The AI uses the Content MCP Server to fetch the data and then presents it in a clear, structured way. It includes content fragment model details, the number of fragments, and summary information.

To trigger the HOT DEAL banner, update one adventure’s price. In the same chat, try:

code language-text
`Can you update adventure Beervana in Portland's price to 99.99`

Update Adventure Price

Similarly, the AI asks for confirmation to proceed before updating the content. It also summarizes the content operation before and after the update.

In the React app, confirm that the Beervana card now shows the HOT DEAL banner.

Additional Prompts

Try these content focused prompts in your IDE (with the Content MCP Server connected) to explore more workflows and features.

Discover content:

code language-text

code language-text
`List all content fragments in the WKND Adventures folder List all WKND Site pages from US English site Can you give me page metadata for Tahoe Skiing English page? List assets of Bali Surf camp What Content Fragment models are available in this environment?`

List all content fragments in the WKND Adventures folder

List all WKND Site pages from US English site

Can you give me page metadata for Tahoe Skiing English page?

List assets of Bali Surf camp

What Content Fragment models are available in this environment?

Search for content:

code language-text
`Search for content fragments that mention 'cycling' Do we have a magazine page in US English site with "Camping" in it`

Update content:

code language-text
`In WKND US English create a copy of Downhill Skiing Wyoming as "Test Downhill Skiing Wyoming" In newly created "Test Downhill Skiing Wyoming" please change title to "Duplicated Page"`

Publish or unpublish:

code language-text
`Can you publish the page at /us/en/adventures/test-downhill-skiing-wyoming and give me publish page URL Can you unpublish the test-downhill-skiing-wyoming page`

Summary

You set up the AEM Content MCP Server in Cursor and connected it to your RDE (or Development) environment. You then used the WKND Adventures React app and chatted in natural language to review Adventure content fragment details. You also updated a fragment’s price with the AI asking for your confirmation before each content operation. You verified the change in the running app. You can use the same human-centric flow from your IDE to review, update, and create AEM content without switching to the AEM UI or writing low-level API code.

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