Catalyst by Zoho

July 27, 2026 · View on GitHub

Official Cursor plugin for Catalyst by Zoho — Zoho's full-stack serverless cloud platform.

This plugin gives Cursor deep knowledge of Catalyst services, SDK patterns, CLI workflows, and architecture guidance. With Zoho MCP connected, the agent can also manage Catalyst infrastructure (tables, cache, buckets, ZCQL) directly from chat.

What's included

Component	Path	Description
Rules	`CATALYST.md`	Always-on behavioral rules and MCP routing for Catalyst projects
Skills	`skills/`	Specialized agent skills (functions, AppSail, Data Store, Stratus, Slate, Signals, SmartBrowz, SDKs, pricing, and more)
Hooks	`hooks/`	`sessionStart` context bootstrap from `.catalystrc` + local toolchain checks
Commands	`commands/`	Agent commands (e.g. `switch-dc` guides DC changes via Plugins → Configure)
MCP	`.mcp.json`	Zoho MCP server; URL uses plugin variable `CATALYST_MCP_TLD`
Manifest	`.cursor-plugin/plugin.json`	Plugin metadata, including the DC TLD `variables` enum

Skills

Skill	Description
`catalyst-by-zoho`	Skill router — start here; loads the most specific skill for the task
`catalyst-basics`	Architecture, project setup, CLI, environments
`catalyst-functions`	Serverless functions, handlers, API Gateway
`catalyst-appsail`	Backend PaaS, Docker, managed runtimes
`catalyst-slate`	Frontend hosting, frameworks, Git deploy
`catalyst-datastore`	Relational Data Store, ZCQL, permissions
`catalyst-stratus`	S3-compatible object storage
`catalyst-nosql`	Document storage, collections
`catalyst-cache`	In-memory key-value cache
`catalyst-authentication`	User auth, ZAID, Connections/OAuth
`catalyst-signals`	Event-driven triggers, pub/sub (replaces Event Listeners)
`catalyst-smartbrowz`	Headless browser, PDF/screenshot, Browser Logic, Dataverse
`catalyst-pricing`	Free tier, pay-as-you-go, cost estimation
`catalyst-sdk`	Node.js, Web, Python, Java, mobile SDKs
`catalyst-zia`	Zia Services, QuickML, OCR/ML
`catalyst-zoho-mcp`	MCP setup and `CatalystbyZoho_*` via `ZohoMCP_executeTool`

Note: For edge-case lookups not covered by skill reference files, agents are instructed to search docs.catalyst.zoho.com and fetch individual pages — keeping the plugin lean while ensuring up-to-date answers.

Installation

Option 1: Cursor Marketplace (recommended)

When published, install from Cursor Settings → Plugins or the Cursor Marketplace.

Option 2: Local testing

Copy this repository into Cursor's local plugins directory:
```
mkdir -p ~/.cursor/plugins/local
cp -R /path/to/cursor-plugin ~/.cursor/plugins/local/catalyst-by-zoho
```
Use cp -R rather than symlinks — symlink resolution for local plugins is unreliable in some Cursor versions.
Restart Cursor or run Developer: Reload Window.
Confirm the plugin loaded under Cursor Settings → Plugins. Skills, rules, and MCP are bundled automatically — authorize MCP once (see below).

Option 3: Install from a Git URL

If your Cursor version supports installing plugins from a repository URL, point it at:

https://github.com/catalystbyzoho/cursor-plugin

Catalyst MCP server (pre-configured)

The plugin ships the Catalyst MCP server in .mcp.json with "url": "https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.${CATALYST_MCP_TLD}/mcp/message". Pick your data center TLD once via the plugin variable — no manual URL copying required.

Choose your data center

Open Cursor Settings → Plugins → Catalyst by Zoho → Configure.
Set Catalyst MCP data center (CATALYST_MCP_TLD) to your region TLD (default: com / US).
Reload the window if the MCP endpoint does not update.

Data Center	`CATALYST_MCP_TLD`	MCP Server URL
US (default)	`com`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.com/mcp/message`
EU	`eu`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.eu/mcp/message`
IN	`in`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.in/mcp/message`
AU	`com.au`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.com.au/mcp/message`
CA	`ca`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.ca/mcp/message`
SA	`sa`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.sa/mcp/message`
JP	`jp`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.jp/mcp/message`
UAE	`ae`	`https://catalystbyzoho.zohomcp.ae/mcp/message`

To change regions later, use Configure again, run the switch-dc command, or ask the agent (see skills/catalyst-zoho-mcp/references/dc-switching.md).

Authorize once

Open Cursor Settings → MCP.
Find catalyst-by-zoho (may show "Needs authentication").
Click Connect and complete Zoho OAuth in your browser.
Confirm ZohoMCP_* meta-tools appear in the tool list.

The first time you invoke a Catalyst MCP tool, you may be prompted to authorize again if the session has expired — click Connect to re-authenticate.

Fallback: If the Configure picker is unavailable, create a project .cursor/mcp.json with the URL for your DC, or copy a personal URL from mcp.zoho.com.

For detailed MCP tool reference and verification steps, see skills/catalyst-zoho-mcp/references/zoho-mcp.md.

Pre-flight checklist

Before asking Cursor to write or deploy Catalyst code:

catalyst login --dc <dc> -ni has been run in your terminal
catalyst init --org <orgId> -p <projectId> -ni has been run in your project directory
.catalystrc and catalyst.json exist at the project root
Catalyst MCP data center matches your account region (Plugins → Configure)
catalyst-by-zoho shows connected in Cursor Settings → MCP (click Connect if needed)

Plugin structure

cursor-plugin/
├── .cursor-plugin/
│   └── plugin.json       # Manifest + CATALYST_MCP_TLD variable enum
├── CATALYST.md           # Behavioral rules (wired via manifest)
├── .mcp.json             # MCP server (url = …zohomcp.${CATALYST_MCP_TLD}/…)
├── hooks/
│   ├── hooks.json        # sessionStart hook registration
│   └── catalyst-context.js
├── commands/
│   └── switch-dc.md      # Guide DC change via Plugins → Configure
├── skills/               # Agent skills (auto-discovered)
│   ├── catalyst-by-zoho/
│   ├── catalyst-basics/
│   └── ...
├── assets/
│   └── catalyst_logo.svg
└── README.md

Session start hook

When an Agent session starts in a Catalyst workspace (.catalystrc present), the plugin's sessionStart hook injects org/project/environment context and reports local CLI/runtime gaps. It is fire-and-forget and does not block session creation. The readiness gate in skills/catalyst-basics/references/preflight.md still verifies MCP parity before mutations.

About CATALYST.md

CATALYST.md is a lightweight rules file — MCP routing and core behavioral guardrails for Catalyst work. It is registered in plugin.json as the plugin's rules source.

It is not a replacement for the full skill library. For application development, agents should route through skills/catalyst-by-zoho/SKILL.md and load the matching service skill and its references/ files. CATALYST.md alone is insufficient for building a complete Catalyst app.

What this plugin enables

Architecture recommendations — Catalyst-specific service picks for your use case (including Signals and SmartBrowz)
Production-ready code generation — correct handler signatures, SDK patterns, catalyst-config.json, and project structure compatible with catalyst deploy
Local-first workflow — sessionStart context from .catalystrc, CLI/runtime prerequisite checks, and serve-before-deploy guidance
Platform migration guidance — maps AWS, GCP, Azure, Vercel, Firebase, Supabase, and Heroku services to Catalyst equivalents
Infrastructure management via Zoho MCP — create tables, insert data, run ZCQL, manage cache/buckets from chat (ZohoMCP_* meta-tools → CatalystbyZoho_* operations)
DC switching — switch-dc command + Plugins → Configure for CATALYST_MCP_TLD
Pricing estimation — cost breakdowns with unit prices and free tier offsets