Claude Desktop Commander MCP
About
MCP server stack for Claude that gives it terminal control
Details
- License
- MIT
Explore
- Execute terminal commands with output streaming
- Command timeout and background execution support
- Process management (list and kill processes)
- Session management for long-running commands
- Full filesystem operations:
- Read/write files
- Create/list directories
- Move files/directories
- Search files
- Get file metadata
- Code editing capabilities:
- Surgical text replacements for small changes
- Full file rewrites for major changes
- Multiple file support
- Pattern-based replacements
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
Claude Desktop Commander MCPCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
First, ensure you've downloaded and installed the Claude Desktop app and you have npm installed.
To install Desktop Commander for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander --client claude
Just run this in terminal
npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander setup
Restart Claude if running
Add this entry to your claude_desktop_config.json (on Mac, found at ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"desktop-commander": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander"
]
}
}
}
Restart Claude if running
For commands that may take a while:
1. execute_command returns after timeout with initial output
2. Command continues in background
3. Use read_output with PID to get new output
4. Use force_terminate to stop if needed
execute_command
Run commands with configurable timeout
read_output
Get output from long-running commands
force_terminate
Stop running command sessions
list_sessions
View active command sessions
list_processes
View system processes
kill_process
Terminate processes by PID
block_command
/`unblock_command`: Manage command blacklist
read_file
/`write_file`: File operations
create_directory
/`list_directory`: Directory management
move_file
Move/rename files
search_files
Pattern-based file search
get_file_info
File metadata
edit_block
Apply surgical text replacements (best for changes <20% of file size)
write_file
Complete file rewrites (best for large changes >20% or when edit_block fails)
- execute_command: Run commands with configurable timeout
- read_output: Get output from long-running commands
- force_terminate: Stop running command sessions
- list_sessions: View active command sessions
- list_processes: View system processes
- kill_process: Terminate processes by PID
- block_command/unblock_command: Manage command blacklist
- read_file/write_file: File operations
- create_directory/list_directory: Directory management
- move_file: Move/rename files
- search_files: Pattern-based file search
- get_file_info: File metadata
- edit_block: Apply surgical text replacements (best for changes <20% of file size)
- write_file: Complete file rewrites (best for large changes >20% or when edit_block fails)
Search/Replace Block Format:
filepath.ext
<<<<<<< SEARCH
existing code to replace
=======
new code to insert
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Example:
src/main.js
<<<<<<< SEARCH
console.log("old message");
=======
console.log("new message");
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"claude desktop commander mcp": {
"claude-dev-tools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@smithery/cli",
"install",
"@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander",
"--client",
"claude"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"claude-dev-tools": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@smithery/cli",
"install",
"@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander",
"--client",
"claude"
]
}
}
Short version. Two key things. Terminal commands and diff based file editing.
<a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/zempur9oh4">
</a>
This is server that allows Claude desktop app to 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
- Execute terminal commands with output streaming
- Command timeout and background execution support
- Process management (list and kill processes)
- Session management for long-running commands
- Full filesystem operations:
- Read/write files
- Create/list directories
- Move files/directories
- Search files
- Get file metadata
- Code editing capabilities:
- Surgical text replacements for small changes
- Full file rewrites for major changes
- Multiple file support
- Pattern-based replacements
Installation
First, ensure you've downloaded and installed the Claude Desktop app and you have npm installed.Option 1: Installing via Smithery
To install Desktop Commander for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander --client claude
Option 2: Install trough npx
Just run this in terminalnpx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander setup
Option 3: Add to claude_desktop_config by hand
Add this entry to your claude_desktop_config.json (on Mac, found at ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):{
"mcpServers": {
"desktop-commander": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander"
]
}
}
}
Option 4: Checkout locally
1. Clone and build:git clone https://github.com/wonderwhy-er/ClaudeComputerCommander.git
cd ClaudeComputerCommander
npm run setup
The setup command will:
- Install dependencies
- Build the server
- Configure Claude's desktop app
- Add MCP servers to Claude's config if needed
Usage
The server provides these tool categories:
Terminal Tools
-execute_command: Run commands with configurable timeout
- read_output: Get output from long-running commands
- force_terminate: Stop running command sessions
- list_sessions: View active command sessions
- list_processes: View system processes
- kill_process: Terminate processes by PID
- block_command/unblock_command: Manage command blacklist
Filesystem Tools
-read_file/write_file: File operations
- create_directory/list_directory: Directory management
- move_file: Move/rename files
- search_files: Pattern-based file search
- get_file_info: File metadata
Edit Tools
-edit_block: Apply surgical text replacements (best for changes <20% of file size)
- write_file: Complete file rewrites (best for large changes >20% or when edit_block fails)
Search/Replace Block Format:
filepath.ext
<<<<<<< SEARCH
existing code to replace
=======
new code to insert
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Example:
src/main.js
<<<<<<< SEARCH
console.log("old message");
=======
console.log("new message");
>>>>>>> REPLACE
Handling Long-Running Commands
For commands that may take a while:
1. execute_command returns after timeout with initial output
2. Command continues in background
3. Use read_output with PID to get new output
4. Use force_terminate to stop if needed
Model Context Protocol Integration
This project extends the MCP Filesystem Server to enable:
- Local server support in Claude Desktop
- Full system command execution
- Process management
- File operations
- Code editing with search/replace blocks
Created as part of exploring Claude MCPs: https://youtube.com/live/TlbjFDbl5Us
Contributing
If you find this project useful, please consider giving it a ⭐ star on GitHub! This helps others discover the project and encourages further development.
We welcome contributions from the community! Whether you've found a bug, have a feature request, or want to contribute code, here's how you can help:
- Found a bug? Open an issue at github.com/wonderwhy-er/ClaudeComputerCommander/issues
- Have a feature idea? Submit a feature request in the issues section
- Want to contribute code? Fork the repository, create a branch, and submit a pull request
- Questions or discussions? Start a discussion in the GitHub Discussions tab
All contributions, big or small, are greatly appreciated!
License
MIT
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