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Shell Exec

Run bash commands through MCP, including timed or background jobs, and query background-job status.

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Install Shell Exec

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": {
    "shell-exec": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "shell-exec-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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

Automated check passed— started and listed 2 tools correctly (10d ago).

Overview

The Shell Exec MCP server exposes bash command execution through two MCP tools: `execute` and `get_job_status`. Commands can run with an optional timeout or in the background, allowing clients to start longer tasks and inspect them later. Use it for build commands, file operations, system inspection, or processes that need to continue after the initial request. Setup instructions generate client configuration through install-mcp.

Use cases

  • Run project build commands
  • Manage files with bash utilities
  • Start long-running background processes
  • Inspect system state from the shell

Key features

  • Execute bash commands
  • Set an optional command timeout
  • Run commands in the background
  • Check background-job status
  • Use standard build, file, and system utilities

Tools2

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

Verified live~308 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 1d ago

Recent health check succeeded.

6/6 checks healthy over the last 41d

What it can do

From the 2 tools this server returned when we ran it.

Runs commands · 1Read-only tools · 1
Network at startup3 connections
Files written at startupNone
Install scriptsNone
npm provenanceNot published
Package age308 days
Maintainers1

Observed 2026-10-18 in an isolated sandbox. A description of reach, not a security audit.

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 13d ago via OSV.dev · shell-exec-mcp (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

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

GitHub stars9Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads247Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit3d agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Availability100%Our rolling endpoint + install checks that succeeded.
Install checkPassedOur sandbox started it and listed its tools.
Tools exposed2Callable tools this server registers over MCP.
Directory activity4 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Shell Exec works

What Shell Exec MCP server does

The Shell Exec MCP server gives an MCP client a way to run bash commands and retrieve the status of jobs started in the background. It is suited to developer workflows where an agent needs to invoke existing command-line tools rather than use a dedicated API integration.

Typical commands include project builds such as npm run build and make, file-management operations using utilities such as find, grep, mv, rm, mkdir, and stat, and system inspection with commands such as df, ps, and env. The server does not provide separate MCP tools for each of these operations; they are issued as bash commands through execute.

How it works

The Shell Exec MCP server exposes two tools. execute runs a bash command and accepts an optional timeout and background mode. A command started in the background can continue while the client performs other work. get_job_status checks the state of one of those background jobs later.

This model supports both short operations and tasks that may take longer to finish. For example, a client can run a build in the foreground when it needs the command output immediately, or start a server or watch process in the background and query its status afterward. The available behavior is limited to the command execution and job-status functions described by the project.

Setup and configuration

Follow the project’s install-mcp setup link to generate the configuration for an MCP client. The provided setup configuration uses npx to run the shell-exec-mcp package. The README specifically lists Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, and VS Code as supported configuration targets, along with other clients.

For development or contribution, the repository requires Git and Node.js. After cloning it, install dependencies with npm install. The project documents npm run test for running tests and npm run build for creating a build. These are repository-development instructions rather than additional MCP tools.

Tools and capabilities

  • execute: Runs a bash command, with optional timeout and background execution.
  • get_job_status: Checks the status of a background job.
  • Build and development workflows: Run commands such as npm run build or make.
  • File operations: Use standard bash utilities for finding, moving, removing, creating, or inspecting files.
  • System inspection: Run commands such as df -h, ps aux, or env.
  • Long-running processes: Start servers or watch processes in background mode and check them later.

Limitations and notes

The Shell Exec MCP server executes bash commands rather than translating requests into narrowly scoped file, process, or build APIs.

The repository follows semantic versioning, and releases are published to the NPM registry through GitHub Actions after version tags are pushed.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

Reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions about Shell Exec

Shell Exec is an MCP server that connects MCP clients to bash command execution. Its main tools are `execute`, which runs commands with optional timeouts or background mode, and `get_job_status`, which checks background jobs. It can support builds, file operations, system inspection, and long-running processes.

Use the project’s install-mcp setup link to generate configuration for your MCP client.

Use the `execute` tool with background mode enabled. It can start a server, watcher, or other long-running bash process, after which `get_job_status` can check the background job’s status.

Yes, Shell Exec can run those commands through `execute`. The documented examples include `npm run build`, `make`, `find`, `grep`, `mv`, `rm`, `mkdir -p`, and `stat`.

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