Desktop Commander MCP

Search, update, manage files and run terminal commands with AI

Work with code and text, run processes, and automate tasks, going far beyond other AI editors - while using host client subscriptions instead of API token costs.

🖥️ Try the Desktop Commander App (Beta)

Want a better experience? The Desktop Commander App gives you everything the MCP server does, plus:

• Use any AI model — Claude, GPT-4.5, Gemini 2.5, or any model you prefer
• See file changes live — visual file previews as AI edits your files
• Add custom MCPs and context — extend with your own tools, no config files
• Coming soon — skills system, dictation, background scheduled tasks, and more

👉 Download the App (macOS & Windows)

The MCP server below still works great with Claude Desktop and other MCP clients — the app is for those who want a dedicated, polished experience.

Table of Contents

• Features
• How to install
• Getting Started
• Usage
• File Preview UI & Markdown Editor
• Handling Long-Running Commands
• Work in Progress and TODOs
• Sponsors and Supporters
• Website
• Media
• Testimonials
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Contributing
• License

All of your AI development tools in one place. Desktop Commander puts all dev tools in one chat. Execute long-running terminal commands on your computer and manage processes through Model Context Protocol (MCP). Built on top of MCP Filesystem Server to provide additional search and replace file editing capabilities.

Features

• Remote AI Control - Use Desktop Commander from ChatGPT, Claude web, and other AI services via Remote MCP
• 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
• Enhanced terminal commands with interactive process control
• Execute code in memory (Python, Node.js, R) without saving files
• Instant data analysis - just ask to analyze CSV/JSON/Excel files
• Native Excel file support - Read, write, edit, and search Excel files (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm) without external tools
• PDF support - Read PDFs with text extraction, create new PDFs from markdown, modify existing PDFs
• DOCX support - Read, create, edit, and search Word documents (.docx) with surgical XML editing and markdown-to-DOCX conversion
• Interact with running processes (SSH, databases, development servers)
• Execute terminal commands with output streaming
• Command timeout and background execution support
• Process management (list and kill processes)
• Session management for long-running commands
• Process output pagination - Read terminal output with offset/length controls to prevent context overflow
• Server configuration management:
  • Get/set configuration values
  • Update multiple settings at once
  • Dynamic configuration changes without server restart
• Full filesystem operations:
  • Read/write files (text, Excel, PDF, DOCX)
  • Create/list directories
  • Recursive directory listing with configurable depth and context overflow protection for large folders
  • Move files/directories
  • Search files and content (including Excel content)
  • Get file metadata
  • Negative offset file reading: Read from end of files using negative offset values (like Unix tail)
• Code editing capabilities:
  • Surgical text replacements for small changes
  • Full file rewrites for major changes
  • Multiple file support
  • Pattern-based replacements
  • vscode-ripgrep based recursive code or text search in folders
• Comprehensive audit logging:
  • All tool calls are automatically logged
  • Log rotation with 10MB size limit
  • Detailed timestamps and arguments
• Security hardening:
  • Symlink traversal prevention on file operations
  • Command blocklist with bypass protection
  • Docker isolation for full sandboxing
  • See SECURITY.md for details

How to install

Install in Claude Desktop

Desktop Commander offers multiple installation methods for Claude Desktop.

📋 Update & Uninstall Information: Options 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 have automatic updates. Option 5 requires manual updates. See below for details.

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup --debug

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

git clone https://github.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP.git
cd DesktopCommanderMCP
npm run setup

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh)

iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.ps1'))

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander-in-docker": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "mcp/desktop-commander:latest"]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander-in-docker": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-v", "/Users/username/Desktop:/mnt/desktop",
        "-v", "/Users/username/Documents:/mnt/documents",
        "mcp/desktop-commander:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander-in-docker": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-v", "dc-system:/usr",
        "-v", "dc-home:/root", 
        "-v", "dc-workspace:/workspace",
        "-v", "dc-packages:/var",
        "-v", "/Users/username/Projects:/mnt/Projects",
        "-v", "/Users/username/Downloads:/mnt/Downloads",
        "mcp/desktop-commander:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

# Check status
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh) --status

# Reset all persistent data
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh) --reset

# Check status
$script = (New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.ps1'); & ([ScriptBlock]::Create("$script")) -Status

# Reset all data
$script = (New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.ps1'); & ([ScriptBlock]::Create("$script")) -Reset

# Show help
$script = (New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.ps1'); & ([ScriptBlock]::Create("$script")) -Help

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh) --reset && bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh)

Install in Other Clients

Desktop Commander works with any MCP-compatible client. The standard JSON configuration is:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Add this to your client's MCP configuration file at the locations below:

claude mcp add --scope user desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest

codex mcp add desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest

[mcp_servers.desktop-commander]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]
    }
  }
}

qwen mcp add desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest

Updating & Uninstalling Desktop Commander

Automatic Updates (Options 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6)

Options 1 (npx), Option 2 (bash installer), 3 (Smithery), 4 (manual config), and 6 (Docker) automatically update to the latest version whenever you restart Claude. No manual intervention needed.

Manual Updates (Option 5)

• Option 5 (local checkout): cd DesktopCommanderMCP && git pull && npm run setup

Uninstalling Desktop Commander

🤖 Automatic Uninstallation (Recommended)

The easiest way to completely remove Desktop Commander:

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest remove

This automatic uninstaller will:

• ✅ Remove Desktop Commander from Claude's MCP server configuration
• ✅ Create a backup of your Claude config before making changes
• ✅ Provide guidance for complete package removal
• ✅ Restore from backup if anything goes wrong

🔧 Manual Uninstallation

If the automatic uninstaller doesn't work or you prefer manual removal:

Remove from Claude Configuration

1. Locate your Claude Desktop config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Edit the config file:

• Open the file in a text editor
• Find and remove the "desktop-commander" entry from the "mcpServers" section
• Save the file

Example - Remove this section:

{
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]
    }
}

Close and restart Claude Desktop to complete the removal.

🆘 Troubleshooting

If automatic uninstallation fails:

• Use manual uninstallation as a fallback

If Claude won't start after uninstalling:

• Restore the backup config file created by the uninstaller
• Or manually fix the JSON syntax in your claude_desktop_config.json

Need help?

• Join our Discord community: https://discord.com/invite/kQ27sNnZr7

Getting Started

Once Desktop Commander is installed and Claude Desktop is restarted, you're ready to supercharge your Claude experience!

🚀 New User Onboarding

Desktop Commander includes intelligent onboarding to help you discover what's possible:

For New Users: When you're just getting started (fewer than 10 successful commands), Claude will automatically offer helpful getting-started guidance and practical tutorials after you use Desktop Commander successfully.

Request Help Anytime: You can ask for onboarding assistance at any time by simply saying:

• "Help me get started with Desktop Commander"
• "Show me Desktop Commander examples"
• "What can I do with Desktop Commander?"

Claude will then show you beginner-friendly tutorials and examples, including:

• 📁 Organizing your Downloads folder automatically
• 📊 Analyzing CSV/Excel files with Python
• ⚙️ Setting up GitHub Actions CI/CD
• 🔍 Exploring and understanding codebases
• 🤖 Running interactive development environments

Usage

The server provides a comprehensive set of tools organized into several categories:

Available Tools

Quick Examples

Data Analysis:

"Analyze sales.csv and show top customers" → Claude runs Python code in memory

Remote Access:

"SSH to my server and check disk space" → Claude maintains SSH session

Development:

"Start Node.js and test this API" → Claude runs interactive Node session

Tool Usage Examples

Search/Replace Block Format:

filepath.ext
<<<<<<< SEARCH
content to find
=======
new content
>>>>>>> REPLACE

Example:

src/main.js
<<<<<<< SEARCH
console.log("old message");
=======
console.log("new message");
>>>>>>> REPLACE

Enhanced Edit Block Features

The edit_block tool includes several enhancements for better reliability:

1. Improved Prompting: Tool descriptions now emphasize making multiple small, focused edits rather than one large change
2. Fuzzy Search Fallback: When exact matches fail, it performs fuzzy search and provides detailed feedback
3. Character-level Diffs: Shows exactly what's different using {-removed-}{+added+} format
4. Multiple Occurrence Support: Can replace multiple instances with expected_replacements parameter
5. Comprehensive Logging: All fuzzy searches are logged for analysis and debugging

When a search fails, you'll see detailed information about the closest match found, including similarity percentage, execution time, and character differences. All these details are automatically logged for later analysis using the fuzzy search log tools.

Docker Support

🐳 Isolated Environment Usage

Desktop Commander can be run in Docker containers for complete isolation from your host system, providing zero risk to your computer. This is perfect for testing, development, or when you want complete sandboxing.

Installation Instructions

1. Install Docker for Windows/Mac

   • Download and install Docker Desktop from docker.com

2. Get Desktop Commander Docker Configuration

   • Visit: https://hub.docker.com/mcp/server/desktop-commander/manual
   • Option A: Use the provided terminal command for automated setup
   • Option B: Click "Standalone" to get the config JSON and add it manually to your Claude Desktop config

3. Mount Your Machine Folders (Coming Soon)

   • Instructions on how to mount your local directories into the Docker container will be provided soon
   • This will allow you to work with your files while maintaining complete isolation

Benefits of Docker Usage

• Complete isolation from your host system
• Consistent environment across different machines
• Easy cleanup - just remove the container when done
• Perfect for testing new features or configurations

URL Support

• read_file can now fetch content from both local files and URLs
• Example: read_file with isUrl: true parameter to read from web resources
• Handles both text and image content from remote sources
• Images (local or from URLs) are displayed visually in Claude's interface, not as text
• Claude can see and analyze the actual image content
• Default 30-second timeout for URL requests

File Preview UI & Markdown Editor

Desktop Commander includes a rich file preview widget in Claude Desktop that renders files visually as AI works with them.

Supported file types

• Markdown — rendered preview with a built-in editor
• Images — inline display (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, etc.)
• Code files — syntax-highlighted source view
• HTML — rendered preview with toggle to source view
• Directories — interactive tree with expand/collapse and lazy loading
• PDF, Excel, DOCX — native content extraction and display

Markdown Editor

When viewing a .md file in Claude Desktop, you can edit it directly inside the preview panel — no need to open a separate app.

How to use:

1. Ask Claude to read or create a markdown file
2. Expand the file preview to fullscreen using the ⤢ Expand button
3. The editor activates automatically in fullscreen mode
4. Edit your content with a live preview toggle, copy, undo, and save controls
5. Changes are saved back to disk; collapse to return to inline view

Editor features:

• Live edit / preview toggle — switch between raw markdown and rendered output
• Auto-save to disk with save status indicator
• Undo support to revert unsaved changes
• Copy button to grab the full markdown source
• Open in editor — launch your default markdown app directly from the panel
• Partial-file awareness — loads and merges surrounding lines when the file was only partially read
• Text selection context — select text in preview mode and the AI can reference your selection

Directory Browser

When Claude runs list_directory, the result opens as an interactive file tree inside the preview panel — not just raw text output.

Features:

• Expandable tree — folders expand and collapse on click; top-level contents shown immediately
• Lazy loading — subfolders load on demand to keep the initial view fast
• Large directory handling — directories with many items show a ⚠ click to load all button instead of overwhelming the view
• Open in Finder/Explorer — each folder has a quick-open button to reveal it in your file manager
• Click to preview — clicking any file in the tree opens it in the file preview panel directly
• Back navigation — after opening a file from the tree, a ← Back button returns you to the directory view

Other preview features

• Expand / collapse — toggle between compact summary row and full panel
• Open in folder — reveal the file in Finder/Explorer with one click
• Load more lines — incrementally load content above or below a partial read window
• Text selection — highlight text in any preview; the AI can see and reference your selection

Fuzzy Search Log Analysis (npm scripts)

The fuzzy search logging system includes convenient npm scripts for analyzing logs outside of the MCP environment:

# View recent fuzzy search logs
npm run logs:view -- --count 20

# Analyze patterns and performance
npm run logs:analyze -- --threshold 0.8

# Export logs to CSV or JSON
npm run logs:export -- --format json --output analysis.json

# Clear all logs (with confirmation)
npm run logs:clear

For detailed documentation on these scripts, see scripts/README.md.

Fuzzy Searc