Filesystem
Gives an agent scoped read and write access to directories you name explicitly. The usual first MCP server people install.
What it does
Lets an agent read, write, move, and search files inside directories you list at startup. It is one of the official reference servers maintained by the Model Context Protocol project.
Access is limited to the paths you pass on the command line. The agent cannot reach anything outside them.
Setup
For Claude Code:
claude mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem ~/projects
Pass more than one directory by adding more paths at the end. Verify it registered with:
claude mcp list
For a config file instead:
{
"mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/you/projects"]
}
}
}What to watch out for
The directories you pass are the entire security boundary. Do not pass your home directory or a drive root because that hands over everything, including SSH keys, browser profiles, and credential files.
On Windows, use forward slashes or escaped backslashes in paths. A single backslash will not survive JSON parsing.
If your agent already has native file access, as Claude Code and Cursor do inside the open project, this server is mostly useful for reaching files outside that project.
