File System MCP Server

A powerful file system management server built with FastMCP that provides a comprehensive set of tools for file and directory operations. This server allows you to perform various file system operations through a structured API, making it ideal for automation and integration with other systems.

Platform Support

The server is designed to work across different operating systems, but with varying levels of functionality:

Windows

• Full feature support
• Drive listing
• Special folders access
• Windows-specific path handling
• Detailed system information

macOS/Linux

• Basic file operations
• Directory operations
• File search and metadata
• Basic system information
• Note: Some Windows-specific features are not available

Future Implementation

Planned macOS Support

• Native path handling for macOS
• macOS-specific system information retrieval
• Integration with macOS file system features
• Support for macOS-specific file attributes
• Implementation of macOS-specific utilities (similar to windows_utils.py)

Planned Linux Support

• Native path handling for Linux
• Linux-specific system information retrieval
• Integration with Linux file system features
• Support for Linux file permissions and attributes
• Implementation of Linux-specific utilities

Cross-Platform Improvements

• Unified path handling system
• Platform-agnostic drive detection
• Consistent system information API
• Standardized file attributes across platforms
• Cross-platform file system event monitoring
• Universal file collection system

Timeline

• Phase 1: Basic cross-platform compatibility improvements
• Phase 2: Platform-specific feature implementations
• Phase 3: Advanced cross-platform features
• Phase 4: Performance optimizations and refinements

Features

File Operations

• Copy files with backup support
• Move files with backup support
• Delete files with safety checks
• Read file contents
• Write file contents
• Get file information (size, creation time, modification time)
• Search files by name pattern
• Create file collections for organizing related files

Directory Operations

• List directory contents
• Create directories
• Delete directories
• List directories recursively (tree-like structure)
• Search directories by name pattern

System Information

• Get system information (OS, CPU, memory, disk usage)
• Get disk information (total space, used space, free space)
• Get directory information (file count, total size)

Project Structure

file-system-mcp-server/
├── fs_server.py            # Main server implementation
├── windows_utils.py        # Windows-specific utilities (Windows only)
├── requirements.txt        # Project dependencies
└── test_prompts_example.md # Example test prompts

Collections Storage

Collections can be stored in any directory specified by the user. If no storage location is specified, collections will be stored in a default location within the project's data/collections directory.

Example usage:

# Store in default location
create_collection("my_collection", ["file1.txt", "file2.txt"])

# Store in custom location
create_collection("my_collection", ["file1.txt", "file2.txt"], storage_path="/path/to/store")

Dependencies

Required Dependencies

• FastMCP
• Pydantic
• pywin32 (Windows only)
• WMI (Windows only)

To install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/calebmwelsh/file-system-mcp-server.git
cd file-system-mcp-server

2. Create and activate a virtual environment:

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

For detailed MCP configuration instructions across different development environments (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), visit: MCP Configuration Guide

Integration with Claude

To integrate the File System MCP server with Claude, add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "file-system": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/python",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/file-system-mcp-server/fs_server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Finding Your Python Path

To find your Python executable path, use the following command:

Windows (PowerShell):

(Get-Command python).Source

Windows (Command Prompt/Terminal):

where python

Linux/macOS (Terminal):

which python

Replace /absolute/path/to/python with the output from the appropriate command above.

Example Configuration

For Windows, your configuration might look like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "file-system": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\Python\\Python39\\python.exe",
      "args": [
        "C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\Documents/file-system-mcp-server/fs_server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "file-system": {
      "command": "/usr/local/bin/python3",
      "args": [
        "/Users/YourUsername/Documents/file-system-mcp-server/fs_server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

After adding the configuration:

1. Save the claude_desktop_config.json file
2. Restart Claude
3. You can now use the file system tools by asking Claude to perform file operations

Available Tools

File Operations

• copy_file: Copy a file with optional backup
• move_file: Move a file with optional backup
• delete_file: Delete a file with safety checks
• read_file: Read file contents
• write_file: Write contents to a file
• get_file_info: Get detailed file information
• search_files: Search files by name pattern
• create_collection: Create a collection of files

Directory Operations

• list_directory: List directory contents
• create_directory: Create a new directory
• delete_directory: Delete a directory
• list_directory_recursively: Show directory structure in tree format
• search_directories: Search directories by name pattern

System Information

• get_system_info: Get system information
• get_disk_info: Get disk usage information
• get_directory_info: Get directory statistics

Known Issues

The following features are currently experiencing issues and may not work as expected:

1. Delete File Function

   • The delete_file function may fail to properly delete files in some cases
   • Users are advised to verify file deletion manually or use alternative methods when critical
   • Issue is under investigation and will be fixed in a future update

2. List Drives Function

   • The list_drives function may not correctly detect or display all available drives
   • Some drives may be missing from the list or show incorrect information
   • This is a known limitation and will be addressed in future updates

3. Platform-Specific Limitations

   • Windows-specific features are not available on macOS/Linux
   • Some path handling may differ between platforms
   • System information retrieval varies by platform

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling for:

• Invalid file paths
• File/directory not found
• Permission issues
• Disk space limitations
• Invalid operations
• Platform-specific errors

Security

• All file operations include path validation
• Backup files are created before destructive operations
• System information access is restricted to safe operations
• File operations are performed with proper error handling

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with FastMCP
• Uses Pydantic for data validation
• Inspired by modern file system management tools

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