@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander

What it does

Provides Claude with terminal execution, file system operations, and code editing on your local machine. Supports reading and writing text files, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, and Word documents; executing arbitrary terminal commands with streaming output; and running code in memory (Python, Node.js, R). Includes process management, session support for long-running commands, and recursive directory traversal. Built atop the MCP Filesystem Server with extended file search, code replacement, and process control capabilities.

Who it's for

Backend engineers and DevOps practitioners who want Claude to directly execute commands and edit files on their development machines or servers. Also useful for data analysts analyzing local CSV, JSON, or Excel files via Claude, and developers iterating on code while maintaining context with an AI assistant in a single chat.

Common use cases

• Execute build, test, or deployment commands and stream output back to Claude for analysis.
• Edit multiple source files with surgical text replacements or full rewrites, then verify with terminal commands.
• Load and analyze CSV, JSON, or Excel data files for instant reporting or trend analysis.
• Read PDFs or Word documents, extract content, and ask Claude questions about them.
• Manage running processes—list, monitor, or kill long-lived services and interactive sessions.

Setup pitfalls

• High-risk server: This server can read and write any file on your system and execute arbitrary terminal commands. Only run it on machines you trust completely, or use the available Docker isolation option to sandbox commands.
• Command blocklist: The README mentions a command blocklist and bypass protection; review the SECURITY.md file to understand which commands are restricted and how to configure them safely.
• Symlink traversal prevention: File operations include symlink traversal guards, but ensure your filesystem sandboxing and file permissions are correctly configured if you plan to use this on multi-user systems.
• Network access: This server makes network calls; verify your firewall or local proxy settings if you're behind a restricted network.