filesystem

Overview

The Filesystem MCP Server provides comprehensive tools for reading, writing, and manipulating files and directories. It offers both read-only and write capabilities with detailed metadata information. What sets this server apart is its sophisticated directory access control system that supports both command-line configuration and dynamic updates via the MCP Roots protocol. This allows for flexible runtime adjustments without server restarts. The server follows security best practices by restricting all operations to explicitly allowed directories.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 6 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• read_text_file

  Read complete contents of a file as text

  Try:Read the contents of my document.txtTry:Show me the first 10 lines of the log file
• read_media_file

  Read an image or audio file and return base64 data

  Try:Display the profile.png imageTry:Convert audio.mp3 to base64
• write_file

  Create new file or overwrite existing file

  Try:Create a new file with my notesTry:Overwrite config.json with new settings
• edit_file

  Make selective edits to a file using pattern matching

  Try:Update the version number in package.jsonTry:Fix typo in README.md
• create_directory

  Create new directory or ensure it exists

  Try:Create a new folder for my projectTry:Make sure assets directory exists
• list_directory

  List directory contents with [FILE] or [DIR] prefixes

  Try:Show what's in the current directoryTry:List contents of the src folder
• search_files

  Recursively search for files/directories that match patterns

  Try:Find all .js files in the projectTry:Search for files named config
• get_file_info

  Get detailed file/directory metadata

  Try:Show me details about this imageTry:When was this document last modified
• move_file

  Move or rename files and directories

  Try:Move file.txt to documents folderTry:Rename old_name to new_name
• directory_tree

  Get recursive JSON tree structure of directory contents

  Try:Show me the complete directory structureTry:Export project folder as JSON tree
• list_allowed_directories

  List all directories the server is allowed to access

  Try:Which directories can I access?Try:Show me the allowed paths
• list_directory_with_sizes

  List directory contents with file sizes

  Try:Show directory sizes sorted by sizeTry:List files with their sizes

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Installation

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/path/to/allowed/dir,dst=/projects/allowed/dir",
        "mcp/filesystem",
        "/projects"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

How do I restrict access to only specific directories?

You can specify allowed directories via command-line arguments when starting the server or use the MCP Roots protocol for dynamic directory access control. The server will only allow operations within these specified directories.

Can the filesystem server be used with Claude Desktop?

Yes, the server provides specific configuration examples for Claude Desktop in the README, including both NPX and Docker deployment options.

What happens if no directories are specified?

If the server starts without command-line arguments and the client doesn't support the roots protocol (or provides empty roots), the server will throw an error during initialization as it requires at least one allowed directory to operate.

On Hacker News

Recent discussion from the developer community.

• Modelcontextprotocol/Servers: Model Context Protocol Servers▲ 1
  Story by vinnyglennon · 2025-03-20

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