How do I install Filesystem?

Clone Filesystem from https://github.com/domdomegg/filesystem-mcp.git and configure it as an MCP server in your client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code).

What category does Filesystem belong to?

Filesystem is listed under File Systems MCP servers on MCPFind.

Filesystem — MCP Server for File Systems

filesystem-mcp

MCP server for filesystem operations - read, create, and edit files.

Use Cases

Save email attachments: "Download all PDFs from my accountant's emails this month" → searches Gmail for matching emails, extracts attachments, and saves them to a local folder.

Update config files: "Change the API endpoint from staging to production in my config" → finds the config file, replaces the URL, and shows you the diff.

Generate reports: "Create a summary of today's calendar events" → reads your calendar, formats a markdown report, and saves it to your notes folder.

Code refactoring: "Rename the function getData to fetchUserData in src/api.ts" → reads the file, makes the precise replacement, and confirms the change.

Backup before changes: "Save a copy of my .zshrc before I modify it" → reads the current file and writes a timestamped backup.

Setup

Follow the instructions on install-mcp, which generates the right config for your MCP client (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, VS Code, and more).

Tools

Tool	Description
`view`	Read file contents or list directory (with line numbers)
`create`	Create or overwrite a file
`str_replace`	Replace an exact string in a file
`insert`	Insert text at a specific line

Contributing

Pull requests are welcomed on GitHub! To get started:

Install Git and Node.js
Clone the repository
Install dependencies with npm install
Run npm run test to run tests
Build with npm run build

Releases

Versions follow the semantic versioning spec.

To release:

Use npm version <major | minor | patch> to bump the version
Run git push --follow-tags to push with tags
Wait for GitHub Actions to publish to the NPM registry.

Set up in your AI client

AI clientOperating system

Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-domdomegg-filesystem-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "filesystem-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.

Claude Desktop setup reference

Compatible MCP Clients

Filesystem works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.

Claude Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect.

VS Code.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.

Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect.

Claude Code.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.

Filesystem