Filesystem MCP server

This MCP Server provides filesystem operations through the Model Context Protocol. It allows you to read, write, create, move, and search files and directories, while maintaining careful control over which directories can be accessed.

Installation

You can use the Filesystem MCP Server either via Docker or by installing it with NPX.

Docker Installation

The Docker method requires mounting your allowed directories to /projects within the container:

docker run -i --rm \
  --mount type=bind,src=/Users/username/Desktop,dst=/projects/Desktop \
  --mount type=bind,src=/path/to/other/allowed/dir,dst=/projects/other/allowed/dir,ro \
  --mount type=bind,src=/path/to/file.txt,dst=/projects/path/to/file.txt \
  mcp/filesystem /projects

NPX Installation

For a simpler setup, you can run the server directly with NPX:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/username/Desktop /path/to/other/allowed/dir

Configuring with Claude Desktop

To integrate with Claude Desktop, add the MCP server configuration to your claude_desktop_config.json file:

Docker Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/Users/username/Desktop,dst=/projects/Desktop",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/path/to/other/allowed/dir,dst=/projects/other/allowed/dir,ro",
        "--mount", "type=bind,src=/path/to/file.txt,dst=/projects/path/to/file.txt",
        "mcp/filesystem",
        "/projects"
      ]
    }
  }
}

NPX Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/username/Desktop",
        "/path/to/other/allowed/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Operations

Reading Files

Read a single file:

// Read complete contents of a file
{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "read_file",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path/to/file.txt"
  }
}

Read multiple files:

// Read multiple files simultaneously
{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "read_multiple_files",
  "input": {
    "paths": [
      "/projects/path/to/file1.txt",
      "/projects/path/to/file2.txt"
    ]
  }
}

Writing and Editing Files

Create or overwrite a file:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "write_file",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path/to/newfile.txt",
    "content": "This is the content of the new file."
  }
}

Edit parts of a file:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "edit_file",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path/to/file.txt",
    "edits": [
      {
        "oldText": "text to replace",
        "newText": "new text"
      }
    ],
    "dryRun": true,
    "options": {
      "preserveIndentation": true,
      "normalizeWhitespace": true,
      "partialMatch": true
    }
  }
}

Directory Operations

Create a directory:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "create_directory",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path/to/new/directory"
  }
}

List directory contents:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "list_directory",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path"
  }
}

Move or rename files and directories:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "move_file",
  "input": {
    "source": "/projects/path/source.txt",
    "destination": "/projects/path/destination.txt"
  }
}

Search and Information

Search for files:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "search_files",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path",
    "pattern": "*.js",
    "excludePatterns": ["node_modules/**", "*.min.js"]
  }
}

Get file metadata:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "get_file_info",
  "input": {
    "path": "/projects/path/to/file.txt"
  }
}

List allowed directories:

{
  "resource": "file://system",
  "tool": "list_allowed_directories",
  "input": {}
}

Security Considerations

The server will only allow operations within directories explicitly specified via the args parameter in your configuration. When using Docker, adding the ro flag to a mount makes that directory read-only.

For sensitive operations like file edits, always use the dryRun: true option first to preview changes before applying them.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.