Claude Desktop Commander MCP

Short version. Two key things. Terminal commands and diff based file editing.

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 terminal

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander setup

Restart Claude if running

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"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude if running

Option 4: Checkout locally

Clone and build:

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

Restart Claude if running

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:

execute_command returns after timeout with initial output
Command continues in background
Use read_output with PID to get new output
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

Claude Desktop Commander MCP

Short version. Two key things. Terminal commands and diff based file editing.

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 terminal

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander setup

Restart Claude if running

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"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude if running

Option 4: Checkout locally

Clone and build:

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

Restart Claude if running

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:

execute_command returns after timeout with initial output
Command continues in background
Use read_output with PID to get new output
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