Anymd vs BACH FileCommander

A side-by-side look at the Anymd and BACH FileCommander MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.

Anymd logoAnymdFile Systems · Local subprocess (stdio)Any file → clean Markdown for AI agents: PDF, Office, EPUB, HTML, images. Local Rust MCP server.73GreatAuth: no auth requiredBACH FileCommander logoBACH FileCommanderFile Systems · Remote HTTP/SSE39 tools for filesystem, process management, sessions, search, JSON repair, and PDF export.53GoodAuth: not declared

Verdict: choose Anymd for file systems work as a local process; choose BACH FileCommander for file systems over a hosted endpoint. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.

Which MCP server should you choose?

Anymd logoChoose Anymd when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the File Systems domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
  • Its auth model fits you: No auth required.
  • You want tools like inspect, outline, read.
Explore Anymd

BACH FileCommander logoChoose BACH FileCommander when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the File Systems domain.
  • You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
  • You want tools like fc_read_file, fc_preview_file, fc_read_multiple_files.
Explore BACH FileCommander

Feature & specification comparison

Rows where the two servers differ are marked.

SpecAnymd logoAnymdBACH FileCommander logoBACH FileCommander
CategoryFile SystemsFile Systems
Quality signal73/100 · Great53/100 · Good
Install commandConfirmedConfirmed
TransportLocal subprocess (stdio)Remote HTTP/SSE
AuthNo auth requiredNot declared
PricingFreeNot declared
Required env varsNone listedNone listed
Verified ownerCommunity listingCommunity listing
GitHub stars1,0505
Directory activity 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes
Tools450

Tools & capabilities

Anymd tools 4

  • inspectDocument and media evidence when Markdown is not enough. video_timeline (bounded scene/cue timeline) and render_frame (actual decoded frames), and cite_check (quote/location support, not semantic truth), are anymd Pro; PDF operations: inspect (page facts, metadata), render_page (PNG images), extract_regions (crop bounding boxes), ocr_pages / analyze_regions (configured OCR or vision provider), structure (JSON with document map, elements, geometry; profile quality|research adds trust and accessibility reports), compare (page-level diff of sources[0] vs sources[1]).
  • outlineReturn a document heading tree with stable node ids, title paths, page/slide/chapter ranges and Markdown byte ranges. PDF bookmarks or detected headings, Word headings, PowerPoint slides, EPUB chapters and headings, HTML and Markdown. format json (default) or tree. Pass a node id to read to fetch that section.
  • readRead any document as clean Markdown: PDF, Word (DOCX), PowerPoint (PPTX), Excel (XLSX/XLS/ODS), CSV, EPUB, HTML or a web URL, Markdown/text, images (metadata + OCR), audio/video (metadata, chapters, subtitles). Pages/slides/sheets carry <!-- page N --> style markers for citation. Long documents stop at max_tokens (default 20000) and end with a cursor to continue; choose pages with pages: "1-5,8". A directory returns its readable files.
  • searchSearch documents for text: one file, many files, whole directories (recursive, .gitignore aware), or URLs, across every format read supports. Returns each hit as file + page/slide/sheet + a snippet with the match in bold. mode auto (default) finds the exact phrase and falls back to BM25-ranked passages when there is none; literal or ranked force one. Narrow directories with glob, e.g. "*.pdf".

BACH FileCommander tools 50

  • fc_read_fileRead file contents with optional line limit
  • fc_preview_fileInspect MIME type and size first, then explicitly request bounded inline MCP content
  • fc_read_multiple_filesRead up to 20 files in a single call
  • fc_write_fileWrite/create/append to files
  • fc_edit_fileLine-based editing (replace, insert, delete lines)
  • fc_str_replaceReplace a unique string in a file with context validation
  • fc_list_directoryList directory contents (recursive, configurable depth)
  • fc_create_directoryCreate directories (including parents)
  • fc_delete_fileDelete a file (permanent)
  • fc_delete_directoryDelete a directory (with optional recursive flag)
  • fc_safe_deleteMove to Recycle Bin / Trash (recoverable!)
  • fc_moveMove or rename files and directories (cloud-lock safe)
  • +38 more on the listing page

Ready-to-paste client configs

Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.

Anymd

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "anymd": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@sylphx/anymd"
      ]
    }
  }
}

BACH FileCommander

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bach-filecommander": {
      "url": "https://lobehub.com/mcp/ellmos-ai-ellmos-filecommander-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

Anymd is categorized under File Systems and uses a local stdio subprocess. BACH FileCommander belongs to File Systems and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Pick Anymd for file systems work and BACH FileCommander for file systems.

Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.

Anymd is listed as free. Auth: no auth required. BACH FileCommander has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.

Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add anymd and bach-filecommander as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.

On AllMCPs, Anymd has a quality signal of 73/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 1,050 GitHub stars. BACH FileCommander has 53/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 5 GitHub stars.