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Filesystem

Read, create, overwrite, replace, and insert text in local files and directories through MCP.

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Install Filesystem

Pick your client, then add it in one click or paste the config.

STDIONode.js
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-2": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "filesystem-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, merge this into mcpServers, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

We couldn’t confirm it starts correctly

The install command started, but didn't respond the way we expected when we tried to talk to it.

npx -y filesystem-mcp

initialize succeeded but no response to tools/list.

This is an experimental automated check and can have false negatives — missing environment variables, a slow cold install, etc. It doesn’t necessarily mean something’s wrong. Last checked 2d ago.

Overview

Filesystem MCP server gives AI clients tools for reading and modifying local files and directories. It can list directories, show file contents with line numbers, create or overwrite files, replace exact text, and insert text at a specified line. Reach for it when an agent needs to inspect project files, update configuration, generate local reports, or make precise source edits.

Use cases

  • Read project files and directories
  • Create or overwrite local reports
  • Update configuration values with exact replacements
  • Insert text into source or documentation files

Key features

  • Read files with line numbers
  • List directory contents
  • Create or overwrite files
  • Replace exact strings
  • Insert text at a chosen line

Tools4

What Filesystem lets your agent do. Expand a tool for its parameters.

Self-reported~43 tokens of context

Security & health

What it can reach and how reliably it runs — from our own checks, not the maintainer’s claims.

ActiveLast checked 3d ago

Recent health check succeeded.

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 3d ago via OSV.dev · filesystem-mcp (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

Factual signals from GitHub, npm, and our automated checks — not a rating.

GitHub stars3Stargazers on the source repository.
Last commit8d agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Install checkInconclusiveStarted but did not complete the MCP handshake in our test.
Tools exposed4Callable tools this server registers over MCP.
Directory activity2 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Filesystem works

What the Filesystem MCP server does

The Filesystem MCP server exposes a small set of file and directory operations through MCP. Its view tool reads a file or lists a directory, while including line numbers when displaying file content. The create tool writes a new file or replaces the contents of an existing one.

Two editing tools handle targeted changes. str_replace looks for an exact string in a file and replaces it. insert adds text at a selected line. Together, these operations support both full-file generation and narrow edits to existing documents, configuration, or source code.

Typical workflows include saving email attachments into a local folder, producing a Markdown report from information gathered by another service, changing a value in a configuration file, or renaming a function with an exact replacement. A client can also read a file and create a separate copy before making changes.

How it works

An MCP-compatible AI client invokes one of the four exposed tools with the target path and the operation-specific content or text. view is used for inspection, create for full writes, str_replace for exact substitutions, and insert for line-based additions. The tools can be combined in a sequence: inspect a file, apply a targeted edit, or write a new result to disk.

The server is intended for operations on the filesystem available to the client environment. The README examples describe local folders, project files, notes, source code, and shell configuration files as possible targets. External information sources such as email or calendars are part of example workflows involving other tools; they are not listed as capabilities of this server.

Setup and configuration

Use the linked install-mcp setup instructions to generate the configuration for an MCP client. The README specifically names Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, and VS Code, and notes that the installer supports additional clients.

For repository development, the documented prerequisites are Git and Node.js. After cloning the repository, install dependencies with npm install, run tests with npm run test, and build with npm run build. These commands describe contribution and build work rather than a required end-user workflow.

Tools and capabilities

  • view: Read file contents or list a directory, with line numbers for file content.
  • create: Create a file or overwrite an existing file.
  • str_replace: Replace an exact string in a file.
  • insert: Insert text at a specific line.

Limitations and notes

The Filesystem MCP server documents file and directory operations only. It does not document built-in Gmail, calendar, email attachment, or source-control integrations. Those systems may appear in example workflows where another tool supplies information, but they should not be treated as functions exposed by this server.

Releases follow semantic versioning, and publishing is handled through the project’s Node package workflow.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

Reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions about Filesystem

Filesystem is an MCP server that connects an AI client to local files and directories, using view to read content or list directories, create to write files, str_replace for exact replacements, and insert to add text at a specified line.

Use the linked install-mcp instructions to generate the configuration for your MCP client. The README names Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, and VS Code among the supported clients.

It provides four tools: view reads files or lists directories, create creates or overwrites files, str_replace performs exact string replacement, and insert adds text at a specified line.

Yes, Cursor is one of the clients named in the README. The provided setup instructions use install-mcp to generate the client configuration.

Yes, it can edit existing files with str_replace for exact text changes or insert for line-based additions. The create tool can also overwrite an existing file.

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