Dev Tools & GitOfficial referencenpm13 toolsA · 93

Filesystem MCP server

Name: Filesystem
Author: Model Context Protocol

MIT

Secure file operations with configurable access controls — read, write, search and move files in directories you explicitly allow.

At a glance

Filesystem is the official MCP reference server in the Dev Tools & Git category. It runs locally over stdio via `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/directory`, and declares no required credentials. It exposes 13 tools, including read_text_file, read_media_file and read_multiple_files. It scores A (93/100) on the MCP Skills Hub health score as of Oct 27, 2026.

Source 92k

One-click install

VS Code VS Code Insiders Cursor

Opens your editor and pre-fills the config. Your editor will ask before adding it.

How to install Filesystem in your AI client

Setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Cline and VS Code — copy-paste ready.

How to install Filesystem in Claude CodeAnthropic's agentic CLI

Add the server

bash

claude mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/directory

2
Verify it's connected
bash
```
claude mcp list
```
Sharing it with your team?
Add `--scope project` to write it to .mcp.json in the repository root, which you can commit (with the secrets left as environment variables).
Use it in a session
Ask Claude to use the tools this server exposes (e.g. read_text_file, read_media_file, read_multiple_files). It discovers them automatically.

How to install Filesystem in Claude DesktopDesktop app (MCP config)

Open your MCP config
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add this server

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop
The tools appear under the 🔌 menu once the app reloads.

How to install Filesystem in CursorAI-first code editor

Create / edit .cursor/mcp.json in your project

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Enable it
Cursor Settings → MCP → toggle the server on. Tools become available to the Composer/Agent.

How to install Filesystem in Codex CLIOpenAI coding agent

Add to ~/.codex/config.toml

toml

[mcp_servers.filesystem]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/allowed/directory"]

Run Codex
Codex loads MCP servers from config.toml on startup and exposes their tools to the agent.

How to install Filesystem in WindsurfCodeium's agentic IDE

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Reload
Windsurf → Cascade → refresh MCP servers. Cascade can now call the tools.

How to install Filesystem in ClineVS Code autonomous agent

Open Cline → MCP Servers → Configure
Adds to cline_mcp_settings.json.

Add the server

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

How to install Filesystem in VS CodeCopilot / MCP support

Create .vscode/mcp.json

json

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/allowed/directory"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Start it
VS Code shows a ▶ Start action above the server entry. Agent mode (Copilot Chat) can then use the tools.

What tools does Filesystem expose? (13)

Taken from the project's README — the server itself was not queried, so check its docs for the exact schemas.

read_text_fileRead complete contents of a file as text
read_media_fileRead a file and return it as a base64-encoded content block with its MIME type
read_multiple_filesRead multiple files simultaneously
write_fileCreate new file or overwrite existing (exercise caution with this)
edit_fileMake selective edits using advanced pattern matching and formatting
create_directoryCreate new directory or ensure it exists
list_directoryList directory contents with [FILE] or [DIR] prefixes
list_directory_with_sizesList directory contents with [FILE] or [DIR] prefixes, including file sizes
move_fileMove or rename files and directories
search_filesRecursively search for files/directories that match or do not match patterns
directory_treeGet recursive JSON tree structure of directory contents
get_file_infoGet detailed file/directory metadata
list_allowed_directoriesList all directories the server is allowed to access

What the code can do

Read from the published package source — never executed. Parsed 8 of 8 source files.

This server can read and write files and read system information.

How it was published

Published by a verified CI identity (github trusted publishing) rather than a personal token.
Has a provenance attestation tying this artifact to the commit it was built from.
6 npm maintainers · last published by GitHub Actions.

Maintainer of this package and think something here is wrong? Tell us and we'll correct it.

Before you install

Signals gathered from the source repo and package registry — not a safety verdict.

What it can reach

Runs code on your machine — Executes as a local process with your user's permissions, including filesystem access.
Downloads at launch — The package is fetched from its registry each run unless you pin a version.

Last commit today — Actively maintained.
92k GitHub stars — Community adoption signal.
737k weekly downloads — Regularly installed by other developers.

Client compatibility

Claude Code: NativeClaude Desktop: NativeCursor: NativeCodex CLI: NativeWindsurf: NativeCline: NativeVS Code: Native

Health score

A · 93

Maintenance, adoption, transparency and packaging — not a safety audit. How this is calculated

Maintenance30%100%
Last commit 0 days ago.
Adoption20%100%
91630 stars, 737150 weekly downloads.
Transparency20%100%
4/4: ✓ public source repo, ✓ declared license, ✓ documentation, ✓ discoverable tool list.
Provenance15%100%
Official reference implementation, maintained by the MCP steering group.
Packaging15%50%
No pinned version — installs resolve to whatever is latest at launch.

Documentation

Full README

Filesystem MCP Server

Node.js server implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) for filesystem operations.

Published on npm as `@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem`.

Features

Read/write files
Create/list/delete directories
Move files/directories
Search files
Get file metadata
Directory access control from command-line arguments, with Roots as a deprecated, 2025-era convenience
Serves both protocol eras on stdio: 2026-07-28 clients (server/discover, no handshake) and 2025-era clients (initialize)

Directory Access Control

The server may touch only its allowed directories. Pass them on the command line. A 2025-era client that supports Roots can also replace them at runtime, but Roots is deprecated as of protocol version 2026-07-28 and a 2026-07-28 connection cannot use it.

Method 1: Command-line Arguments (Recommended)

Specify Allowed directories when starting the server:

bash

mcp-server-filesystem /path/to/dir1 /path/to/dir2

This is the only method that works on every protocol version, so it is the one to use.

Method 2: MCP Roots (Deprecated, 2025-era clients only)

A client that connects with a 2025-era protocol version (the initialize handshake) and supports Roots can dynamically update the Allowed directories.

Roots notified by Client to Server, completely replace any server-side Allowed directories when provided.

Excerpt — the full document is on GitHub.

Alternatives to Filesystem

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Shows its health grade, and links readers to install steps for every client.

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