Desktop Commander MCP exposes an MCP server that enables AI-driven terminal control, file system search/edit, and process management for Claude and other MCP clients. It supports multiple install methods, including npx, scripts, Smithery, CLAUDE config, and Docker, with extensive file and code editing features.
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What it is
Desktop Commander MCP is an MCP server for Claude that provides terminal control, file system search, and diff file editing capabilities. It is built with TypeScript and licensed under MIT. The repository has 9149 stars and 200 open issues as of the provided data.
How it works
The MCP server integrates with various MCP clients to execute long-running terminal commands, manage processes, and perform file operations (read/write, move, list directories, search content, get metadata). It includes features such as recursive directory listing with depth/config context overflow protection, negative offset file reading, pattern-based replacements, and in-memory code execution. It supports audit logging and safety guardrails like symlink traversal prevention and a command blocklist. It leverages a filesystem server as a base for search/edit capabilities.
Getting started
Install in Claude Desktop
npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup
npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup --debug
Option 2: Bash installer (macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bash
Option 3: Smithery
Visit: https://smithery.ai/server/@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander
Option 4: claude_desktop_config.json
add configuration snippet to claude_desktop_config.json
Option 6: Docker Installation
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP/refs/heads/main/install-docker.sh)
Docker management commands and persistent configuration options are provided in the README for fine-grained setup.
Install in Other Clients
Configure mcpServers with command npx and args ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"] in various client docs (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Cline, Roo Code, Claude Code, Trae, Kiro, Codex, JetBrains).
Recent releases
- v0.2.44 (2026-07-09): Fixed multi-minute tool-call hangs under parallel load during heavy parallel file I/O.
- v0.2.43 (2026-06-26): edit_block remains responsive on large files; fuzzy matching runs in a worker thread.
- v0.2.42 (2026-06-05): Image reads fixed for clients.
- earlier: v0.2.41 (2026-05-14): Security fix for directory traversal via symlink bypass.
- v0.2.40 (2026-04-27): Markdown auto-save hotfix.
Traction
There are 9149 stars, 1094 forks, and 200 open issues.
Behind the repo
The README references multiple distribution/install channels and integration points with Claude Desktop and various MCP clients (Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Claude Code, etc.).
Caveats
License: MIT. Created 2024-12-04. Last push 2026-08-04. Language: TypeScript. Repository topics include agent, ai, code-analysis, code-generation, mcp, terminal-automation, vibe-coding.