Guide to Using the Desktop Commander MCP Server
The Desktop Commander MCP Server is a powerful tool that brings all your development operations into one chat interface. Built on top of the MCP Filesystem Server, it allows you to search, edit, and manage files, run terminal commands, and control processes directly from your desktop using the Model Context Protocol.
Following are the core capabilities of the Desktop Commander MCP server:
Terminal & Process Control
Execute terminal commands with live output streaming
Set timeouts and run commands in the background
Manage sessions for long-running tasks
List and kill running processes with detailed info
Configuration Management
Get or set server settings like:
defaultShellblockedCommandsallowedDirectories for file access
telemetryEnabled
Apply changes without restarting the server
Filesystem Operations
Read and write files with line-based limits
Append or overwrite file content
Create and list directories
Move or rename files and folders
Get file and directory metadata
Search files by nameCode & Text Editing
Perform precise text replacementsRewrite entire files for major updates
Search and replace patterns across multiple files
Use vscode-ripgrep for fast recursive text/code search
Audit Logging
All actions are logged with timestamps and arguments
Logs auto-rotate at 10MB to avoid clutter
In this tutorial, we will be connecting Claude desktop with the MCP server and perform some tasks.
Step 1: Setting up dependencies
Node JS
We need npx to run the Desktop Commander server, which comes with Node.js.
Download the latest version of Node.js from nodejs.org
Run the installer.
Leave all settings as default and complete the installation
Claude Desktop
Download Claude using .
Step 2: Configuring the MCP Server
Next, configure Claude to connect to your MCP server. Open the claude_desktop_config.json file located in the Claude installation directory using any text editor. If the file doesn’t exist, you can create it manually. Once opened, enter the following code:
{
"mcpServers": {
"desktop-commander": {
"command": "npx",
"args":}
}
}
Step 3: Running the server
Once the MCP configuration is complete, your server should appear in Claude. The Desktop Commander server is a powerful interface, offering 18 tools for tasks like file management, terminal execution, process control, and more.
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Arham IslamI am a Civil Engineering Graduatefrom Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and I have a keen interest in Data Science, especially Neural Networks and their application in various areas.Arham Islam
https://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Synthetic Data Using the Synthetic Data VaultArham Islam
https://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Step-by-Step Guide to Create an AI agent with Google ADKArham Islam
https://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Implementing an LLM Agent with Tool Access Using MCP-UseArham Islam
https://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Implementing an AgentQL Model Context ProtocolServer
#guide #using #desktop #commander #mcp
Guide to Using the Desktop Commander MCP Server
The Desktop Commander MCP Server is a powerful tool that brings all your development operations into one chat interface. Built on top of the MCP Filesystem Server, it allows you to search, edit, and manage files, run terminal commands, and control processes directly from your desktop using the Model Context Protocol.
Following are the core capabilities of the Desktop Commander MCP server:
Terminal & Process Control
Execute terminal commands with live output streaming
Set timeouts and run commands in the background
Manage sessions for long-running tasks
List and kill running processes with detailed info
Configuration Management
Get or set server settings like:
defaultShellblockedCommandsallowedDirectories for file access
telemetryEnabled
Apply changes without restarting the server
Filesystem Operations
Read and write files with line-based limits
Append or overwrite file content
Create and list directories
Move or rename files and folders
Get file and directory metadata
Search files by nameCode & Text Editing
Perform precise text replacementsRewrite entire files for major updates
Search and replace patterns across multiple files
Use vscode-ripgrep for fast recursive text/code search
Audit Logging
All actions are logged with timestamps and arguments
Logs auto-rotate at 10MB to avoid clutter
In this tutorial, we will be connecting Claude desktop with the MCP server and perform some tasks.
Step 1: Setting up dependencies
Node JS
We need npx to run the Desktop Commander server, which comes with Node.js.
Download the latest version of Node.js from nodejs.org
Run the installer.
Leave all settings as default and complete the installation
Claude Desktop
Download Claude using .
Step 2: Configuring the MCP Server
Next, configure Claude to connect to your MCP server. Open the claude_desktop_config.json file located in the Claude installation directory using any text editor. If the file doesn’t exist, you can create it manually. Once opened, enter the following code:
{
"mcpServers": {
"desktop-commander": {
"command": "npx",
"args":}
}
}
Step 3: Running the server
Once the MCP configuration is complete, your server should appear in Claude. The Desktop Commander server is a powerful interface, offering 18 tools for tasks like file management, terminal execution, process control, and more.
Feel free to follow us on Twitter and don’t forget to join our 95k+ ML SubReddit and Subscribe to our Newsletter.
Arham IslamI am a Civil Engineering Graduatefrom Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, and I have a keen interest in Data Science, especially Neural Networks and their application in various areas.Arham Islamhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Synthetic Data Using the Synthetic Data VaultArham Islamhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Step-by-Step Guide to Create an AI agent with Google ADKArham Islamhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Implementing an LLM Agent with Tool Access Using MCP-UseArham Islamhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/arhamislam/Implementing an AgentQL Model Context ProtocolServer
#guide #using #desktop #commander #mcp