shell-exec-mcp
MCP server for executing bash commands with background job support.
Use Cases
Run build commands: Execute npm run build, make, or other build tools and get the output.
File operations: Use find, grep, mv, rm, mkdir -p, stat etc. for file management.
Long-running tasks: Start servers or watch processes in background mode, check on them later.
System info: Run df -h, ps aux, env etc. to inspect the system state.
Setup
claude mcp add shell-exec-mcp -- npx -y shell-exec-mcp
Or with HTTP transport:
# Start the server
MCP_TRANSPORT=http PORT=3000 npx -y shell-exec-mcp
# Add to Claude
claude mcp add --transport http shell-exec-mcp http://localhost:3000/mcp
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
execute | Run a bash command (with optional timeout and background mode) |
get_job_status | Check status of a background job |
Contributing
Pull requests are welcomed on GitHub! To get started:
- Install Git and Node.js
- Clone the repository
- Install dependencies with
npm install - Run
npm run testto run tests - Build with
npm run build
Releases
Versions follow the semantic versioning spec.
To release:
- Use
npm version <major | minor | patch>to bump the version - Run
git push --follow-tagsto push with tags - Wait for GitHub Actions to publish to the NPM registry.