desktopcommandermcp

Desktop Commander MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that extends AI assistants—primarily Claude Desktop—with powerful terminal control, file system operations, and code editing capabilities. Built on top of the MCP Filesystem Server, it provides a comprehensive toolkit for AI-driven development and automation. Key capabilities include: Terminal and Process Management: Execute terminal commands with output streaming, manage running processes (list, interact, terminate), handle long-running commands with session management, and support command timeouts and background execution. The tool includes process output pagination to prevent context overflow. File System Operations: Full filesystem access including reading and writing files (text, Excel, PDF, DOCX), creating and listing directories with configurable depth, moving files, searching files and content (including Excel content), and retrieving file metadata. Supports negative offset file reading (like Unix tail) and recursive directory listing with context overflow protection. Code Editing: Surgical text replacements for small changes, full file rewrites for major changes, multiple file support, and pattern-based replacements using vscode-ripgrep for recursive code search. Multi-format Support: Native support for Excel files (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm) with read, write, edit, and search capabilities; PDF support with text extraction, creation from markdown, and modification; DOCX support with surgical XML editing and markdown-to-DOCX conversion. Code Execution: Execute code in memory (Python, Node.js, R) without saving files, enabling instant data analysis of CSV, JSON, and Excel files. Safety and Configuration: Includes safety guardrails such as symlink traversal prevention, command blocklists, and optional Docker isolation for complete sandboxing. Server configuration management allows dynamic changes without restart, including blocked commands, default shell, allowed directories, and file read/write line limits. Installation Flexibility: Multiple installation methods including npx (auto-updates), bash script installer, Smithery, manual configuration, local checkout, and Docker installation (no Node.js required). Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code/GitHub Copilot, Cline, Roo Code, Claude Code, Trae, Kiro, Codex, JetBrains AI Assistant, Gemini CLI, Augment Code, Qwen Code, and more. Remote MCP: Supports remote access from ChatGPT, Claude web, and other AI services via a lightweight Remote Device that connects securely to a cloud service, allowing commands to execute locally while maintaining user control. File Preview UI: Visual file previews in Claude Desktop with rendered markdown, inline images, expandable content, built-in markdown editor, and quick "Open in folder" access. Audit and History: Local tool-call history and audit logs with size-based rotation/trimming to keep active history files bounded. The tool also includes intelligent onboarding for new users, providing beginner-friendly tutorials and examples for common tasks like organizing downloads, analyzing data files, setting up CI/CD, and exploring codebases.