Filesystem vs Cal MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Filesystem and Cal MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Filesystem when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Other Tools and Integrations domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: Secure file read and write operations, Configurable access control policies, Reference implementation for MCP file handling.

Explore Filesystem Details

Choose Cal MCP when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Other Tools and Integrations domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
• Primary tools included: MCP tool named cal, String expression input through exp, Arithmetic evaluation with expr-eval.

Explore Cal MCP Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Filesystem VerifiedOther Tools and Integrations	Cal MCP pwh-pwh Other Tools and Integrations
Summary	Secure file operations with configurable access controls.	An MCP server for Mathematical expression calculation
Category & Scope	Other Tools and Integrations

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pwh-pwh-cal-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@smithery/cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Related MCP Server Comparisons