Filesystemvf.sr

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Read, write, search and edit files inside directories you explicitly allow, over a local stdio connection.

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npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir

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mcp.tc/i/filesystem

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Filesystem is a reference MCP server maintained by the Model Context Protocol steering group. It gives an assistant file operations on your local machine, limited to the directories you pass on the command line. You can read, write, search and edit files within those paths.

It runs locally over stdio through npx as @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem, with one or more allowed directory paths as arguments. It needs Node.js and no API key or sign-in. The project describes its servers as reference implementations, so review your own security needs before giving it access to important folders.

listing.can

  • Read files from allowed directories
  • Write and create files in allowed directories
  • Edit existing files
  • Search for files within allowed paths
  • Restrict access to directories set at startup

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  • Read the README in my project folder and summarize it.

  • Search the allowed directory for files that mention TODO.

  • Create a notes.md file in my docs folder with this outline.

  • Edit config.json to change the port to 8080.

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Claude Code

  1. Run this in a terminal, in your project folder:
claude mcp add --transport stdio filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir
  1. Start Claude Code and type /mcp. filesystem should show as connected.

Add --scope user to make it available in every project.

Claude Desktop

  1. Open Settings → Developer → Edit Config. It opens claude_desktop_config.json. Add:
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Save the file and restart Claude Desktop.

Needs Node.js on your computer. The file lives in ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/ on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\ on Windows.

Cursor

Add to Cursor a11y.new_tab

Or add it by hand to ~/.cursor/mcp.json (all projects) or .cursor/mcp.json (this project):

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

Needs Node.js on your computer.

VS Code

Install in VS Code a11y.new_tab

Or from a terminal:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"filesystem","type":"stdio","command":"npx","args":["-y","@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem","/path/to/allowed/dir"]}'

Or commit it to the repo in .vscode/mcp.json:

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Needs Node.js on your computer.

Devin Desktop

  1. Add it to ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json (macOS and Linux) or %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json (Windows):
mcp_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}
  1. Refresh the MCP server list in Cascade.

Devin Desktop is the new name for Windsurf.

Codex

codex mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir

Or edit ~/.codex/config.toml directly:

config.toml
[mcp_servers.filesystem]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/dir"]

Needs Node.js on your computer.

Gemini CLI

gemini mcp add filesystem npx -- -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir

This adds it to the current project. Add -s user to use it everywhere.

Any client

Most clients that start local servers accept this shape:

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

Zed puts servers under context_servers in its settings, with the same command, args and env fields.

Needs Node.js on your computer.

listing.faq

Can I paste mcp.tc/i/filesystem into my MCP client?

No. Filesystem runs on your own computer, started by your client, so it has no web address to connect to. The quick link is the page to share; the install command is npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir.

Does Filesystem need an API key?

No. It doesn't declare any keys or environment variables. It runs with your user account's permissions, so check what its tools can reach.

Is Filesystem a remote or a local server?

Local. Your client starts it as a process on your computer with npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir, which needs Node.js.

What can Filesystem do?

You can read files from allowed directories, write and create files in allowed directories and edit existing files.

Which clients can use it?

Any client that starts local servers: Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Devin Desktop, Codex, Gemini CLI, Zed and others. claude.ai and ChatGPT only connect to remote servers.

Who wrote this page?

mcp.tc's robot read Filesystem's public metadata (its package and repository pages), and an AI model drafted the text from it. A person reviews anything the checks can't confirm. The text can still be wrong, so if you spot a mistake, use Report this listing on this page.

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[![Filesystem on mcp.tc](https://mcp.tc/i/filesystem/badge.svg)](https://mcp.tc/i/filesystem)
HTML
<a href="https://mcp.tc/i/filesystem"><img src="https://mcp.tc/i/filesystem/badge.svg" alt="Filesystem on mcp.tc" height="20"></a>

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<script src="https://mcp.tc/w/filesystem.js" async></script>

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iframe

HTML
<iframe src="https://mcp.tc/embed/filesystem" title="Filesystem on mcp.tc" width="420" height="200" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;border-radius:8px;max-width:100%"></iframe>

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JSON

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https://mcp.tc/i/filesystem.json

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