Desktop Commander MCP

by Eduard RuzgaConnectorGet organised

Lets your AI app read, edit and organize files and run commands on your computer

About Desktop Commander MCP

Desktop Commander lets AI chat apps such as Claude Desktop work with your computer: search and edit files, read Excel, PDF and Word documents, and run terminal commands. The local version is free and open source.

For Claude Desktop usersPeople who work with spreadsheetsDevelopers

Made by Eduard Ruzga

An open-source project by developer Eduard Ruzga, published on GitHub. Its website, desktopcommander.app, offers a free plan and a paid plan.

Stars: ★ 10k
License: MIT
Cost: Free
Level: Intermediate
Runs: Local

Overview

Desktop Commander is an open-source MCP connector that gives Claude Desktop and other AI apps access to your computer's files and terminal. You ask in chat and it can search folders, read and edit text, Excel, PDF and Word files, analyze a CSV, and run or stop terminal commands, with file previews shown in Claude Desktop. One setup command adds it to Claude Desktop, and a remote mode connects ChatGPT or Claude on the web to your machine. It suits people who want their AI chat to work on real files instead of copy and paste.

It works through the chat app you already pay for rather than a separate API key, and handles Excel, PDF and Word files as well as code.

Try these first

Start with the first one: it is a small task you can check easily.

List the files in my Downloads folder grouped by type. Don't move or delete anything.First try · read-only
Analyze [sales.csv] and show the top ten customers by total.
Turn [notes.md] into a PDF and save it next to the original.writes files
Sort my Downloads folder into subfolders by file type.moves files

Example prompts written by Agent Flows Hub.

Capabilities

From the creator's documentation.

Toolset	What your agent can do	Access
File search	Find files by name or content, including inside Excel files	Read
Document reading	Read text, Excel, PDF and Word files, or fetch a web page	Read
Editing	Write, edit and move files; create PDFs and Word documents from Markdown	Read + write
Terminal	Run commands, keep long-running sessions and stop processes	Read + write
Data analysis	Run Python, Node.js or R code in memory on CSV, JSON or Excel data	Read + write
Settings	Block commands, limit folders for file tools and turn telemetry off	Read + write

Good to know

You want Claude Desktop to sort a folder, pull figures out of a spreadsheet or turn notes into a PDF. Desktop Commander gives the chat app file, document and terminal tools on your own computer.

Limits

Terminal commands run with your user permissions. The allowed-folders setting limits only the file tools, not terminal commands, and the README states it is not a sandbox.
Pseudonymous usage telemetry is on by default; ask the AI to turn it off or set telemetryEnabled to false. The README says file contents, paths and command arguments are not collected.
Remote mode for ChatGPT or Claude on the web needs a browser sign-in, and the README says its service briefly stores tool arguments and results to route calls.

Notes by Agent Flows Hub (original project name: Desktop Commander MCP), written from the creator's documentation, not from running it ourselves. Desktop Commander MCP README · Desktop Commander website

Stuck setting it up?

Tell us what happened. We take a look first; if it needs paid work, you get an estimate before anything starts.

Get help

How to start

Open your AI agentClaude Code, Codex, Cursor or another agent that supports MCP.
Paste the install requestIt asks your agent to read the official instructions, tell you what it will connect to and wait for your OK.
Give it a first taskAfter setup, ask Claude to list the files in your Downloads folder grouped by type, without moving anything. Compare the list with the folder.

Steps follow the creator's instructions. The request tells your agent to read them first and wait for your OK.

Before you start

An AI agent that supports MCP, such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor.
Claude Desktop or another MCP client
Node.js (the macOS install script adds it if missing)
Optional: a Desktop Commander sign-in to use it from ChatGPT or Claude on the web
It connects to the internet. Your agent will show you what before installing.
Free. Nothing to pay.

Details

Made by: Eduard Ruzga
License: MIT Terms
Works with: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLIAs stated by the creator
Runs on: Your computer

View source Official docs Report a problem

For AI agents

This page as a Markdown install brief:

/en/library/desktop-commander-mcp/install.md

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