Creativity · MCP — server

MCP Filesystem Server

The MCP Filesystem Server is Anthropic's reference implementation of a Model Context Protocol server that exposes local filesystem operations — read file, write file, list directory, search — to any compliant MCP client. It's the 'hello world' of MCP and the fastest way to give Claude Desktop safe, scoped access to local files.

MCP facts

Kind: server
Ecosystem: anthropic-mcp
Language: TypeScript / Node.js
Transports: stdio

Capabilities

Tools: read_file, write_file, list_directory, search_files
Resources: file:// URIs for explicitly allowed paths
Safety: operations rejected outside the configured --allowed-directory list

Install

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/you/Documents

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/you/Documents",
        "/Users/you/projects"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

What does the MCP filesystem server do?

It exposes read, write, list, and search operations over a scoped set of local directories to any MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Zed, etc.). It's the default way to give an LLM access to local files safely.

How do I install the MCP filesystem server?

Run it directly with npx: `npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /path/to/allowed/dir`. Then add it to your Claude Desktop config's mcpServers block.

Is the MCP filesystem server safe?

Operations are rejected outside the explicitly-listed allowed directories, so it cannot escape to arbitrary paths. Treat it as a least-privilege sandbox — only allowlist directories the model legitimately needs.

Sources

MCP — Filesystem Server reference — accessed 2026-04-20