Filesystem MCP Server

Features

• Read/write files
• Create/list/delete directories
• Move files/directories
• Search files
• Get file metadata

args

API

Resources

• file://system

  : File system operations interface

Tools

• read_file
  • Read complete contents of a file
  • Input:

    path

    (string)
  • Reads complete file contents with UTF-8 encoding
• read_multiple_files
  • Read multiple files simultaneously
  • Input:

    paths

    (string[])
  • Failed reads won't stop the entire operation
• write_file
  • Create new file or overwrite existing (exercise caution with this)
  • Inputs:

    • path

      (string): File location

    • content

      (string): File content
• edit_file
  • Make selective edits using advanced pattern matching and formatting
  • Features:
    • Line-based and multi-line content matching
    • Whitespace normalization with indentation preservation
    • Multiple simultaneous edits with correct positioning
    • Indentation style detection and preservation
    • Git-style diff output with context
    • Preview changes with dry run mode
  • Inputs:

    • path

      (string): File to edit

    • edits

      (array): List of edit operations

      • oldText

        (string): Text to search for (can be substring)

      • newText

        (string): Text to replace with

    • dryRun

      (boolean): Preview changes without applying (default: false)
  • Returns detailed diff and match information for dry runs, otherwise applies changes
  • Best Practice: Always use dryRun first to preview changes before applying them
• create_directory
  • Create new directory or ensure it exists
  • Input:

    path

    (string)
  • Creates parent directories if needed
  • Succeeds silently if directory exists
• list_directory
  • List directory contents with [FILE] or [DIR] prefixes
  • Input:

    path

    (string)
• move_file
  • Move or rename files and directories
  • Inputs:

    • source

      (string)

    • destination

      (string)
  • Fails if destination exists
• search_files
  • Recursively search for files/directories
  • Inputs:

    • path

      (string): Starting directory

    • pattern

      (string): Search pattern

    • excludePatterns

      (string[]): Exclude any patterns. Glob formats are supported.
  • Case-insensitive matching
  • Returns full paths to matches
• get_file_info
  • Get detailed file/directory metadata
  • Input:

    path

    (string)
  • Returns:
    • Size
    • Creation time
    • Modified time
    • Access time
    • Type (file/directory)
    • Permissions
• list_allowed_directories
  • List all directories the server is allowed to access
  • No input required
  • Returns:
    • Directories that this server can read/write from

Usage with Claude Desktop

claude_desktop_config.json

/projects

ro

Docker

/projects

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/Users/username/Desktop,dst=/projects/Desktop",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/path/to/other/allowed/dir,dst=/projects/other/allowed/dir,ro",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/path/to/file.txt,dst=/projects/path/to/file.txt",
        "mcp/filesystem",
        "/projects"
      ]
    }
  }
}

NPX

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/username/Desktop",
        "/path/to/other/allowed/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Build

docker build -t mcp/filesystem -f src/filesystem/Dockerfile .

License