servers-modelcontextprotocol/src/filesystem/README.md

Filesystem MCP Server

Node.js server implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) for filesystem operations.

Features

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

Note: The server will only allow operations within directories specified via 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 to files with advanced pattern matching
  • Features:
    • Multiple positioning modes:
      • Line-based: Specify exact line numbers
      • Pattern-based: Find positions using anchor text
      • Context-aware: Verify surrounding content
    • Insert modes: 'replace', 'before', or 'after' content
    • Dry run preview of changes
    • Cross-platform line ending support (CRLF/LF)
    • Git-friendly content verification
  • Inputs:
    • path (string): File to edit
    • edits (array): List of edit operations
      • startLine? (number): Line number for edit (optional)
      • findAnchor? (string): Text to locate edit position (optional)
      • anchorOffset (number): Lines to offset from anchor (default: 0)
      • oldText (string): Content to replace/verify
      • newText (string): New content to insert
      • insertMode (string): 'replace', 'before', or 'after' (default: 'replace')
      • beforeContext? (string): Expected content before edit point (optional)
      • afterContext? (string): Expected content after edit point (optional)
      • contextRadius (number): Lines to check for context (default: 3)
      • verifyState (boolean): Verify content matches before editing (default: true)
      • readBeforeEdit (boolean): Refresh file state between edits (default: false)
      • dryRun (boolean): Preview changes without applying them (default: false)
  • Returns preview information for dry runs, otherwise applies changes
  • Preserves original line endings and handles Git auto CRLF/LF

• 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
  • 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

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json:

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

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.