Filesystem MCP Server

Overview

Filesystem-MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that lets AI assistants read and write files within explicitly allowed directories. Sensitive file patterns (.env, *.pem, *id_rsa*) are blocked by default. It exposes filesystem tools, resources, and prompts over stdio or Streamable HTTP transport.

Aspect	Details
Status	Active (see npm badge for the current version)
Language	TypeScript (strict)
Runtime	Node.js >= 24
Package	npm
License	MIT

Features

Feature	Description
Path guarding	Every path is validated against allowed roots; .env, *.pem, *id_rsa* and similar patterns are denied
Filesystem tools	Navigate, inspect, read, and write across all major file operations
Batch operations	Most tools accept path, paths[], or files[] for parallel execution
Dual transport	stdio by default; --port enables Streamable HTTP
File subscriptions	Resource subscriptions push change notifications when watched files update
Regex safety	RE2 in all search tools: linear-time matching, so no pattern can ReDoS the server

Built with

Layer	Technology
Protocol	MCP SDK v2 (@modelcontextprotocol/server)
Runtime	Node.js >= 24 · TypeScript 6 · ESM
Transport	stdio (default) · Streamable HTTP (--port)
Regex	RE2 (re2-wasm) — linear time, no lookahead/lookbehind/backreferences
Container	Docker alpine · multi-stage build · non-root user

Table of Contents

• Quick start
• Usage
• Project structure
• Configuration
• Scripts
• Security
• Contributing
• License

Quick start

[!NOTE] Requires Node.js ≥ 24.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version / Notes
Node.js	≥ 24
npm	Bundled with Node.js
Docker	Optional — for container use

Install via npx

npx -y @j0hanz/filesystem-mcp /path/to/allowed/dir

Or install globally:

npm install -g @j0hanz/filesystem-mcp
filesystem-mcp /path/to/allowed/dir

Install via Docker

docker run -i --rm \
  -v /path/to/project:/workspace:ro \
  ghcr.io/j0hanz/filesystem-mcp:latest \
  --read-only /workspace

Configure in VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest", "/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Or install via CLI:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"filesystem","command":"npx","args":["-y","@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest","/path/to/project"]}'

Configure in Visual Studio

Add to .vs\mcp.json in your solution directory, or %USERPROFILE%\.mcp.json for a global configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest", "/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Configure in Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest", "/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Install in Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json in your project root (project-scoped), or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for a global configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest", "/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Docker configuration

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json) and Visual Studio (.vs\mcp.json):

{
  "servers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-v",
        "/path/to/project:/workspace",
        "ghcr.io/j0hanz/filesystem-mcp:latest",
        "/workspace"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) and Cursor (mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-v",
        "/path/to/project:/workspace",
        "ghcr.io/j0hanz/filesystem-mcp:latest",
        "/workspace"
      ]
    }
  }
}

[!NOTE] For least privilege, use both controls: :ro makes the container mount read-only at the operating-system boundary, while the server's --read-only flag removes mutating tools (create, edit, move, delete, patch, replace_text) from tools/list.

Usage

Tools

All tools are scoped to the configured roots. Call list_roots first to discover what is allowed.

Navigate

Tool	Description
list_roots	List allowed workspace roots. Call this first — all other tools scope to these.
list	List directory contents. Returns entries (dirs-first, alphabetical) and an ASCII tree.
find_files	Find files by glob pattern (e.g. **/*.ts). Returns matching files with metadata.

Inspect

Tool	Description
stat	Get file/directory metadata: size, modified time, permissions, MIME type, token estimate.
search_text	Search file contents for text (grep-like). Returns matching lines with context.
diff	Compare two files and return a unified diff with added/removed line counts.

Read

Tool	Description
read	Read a text file. Supports head/tail and line ranges. Accepts paths[] for batches.

Write

Tool	Description
create	Create one or more files, overwriting existing content and creating parent directories as needed.
edit	Apply sequential literal string replacements to one or more files (max 5 per call).
move	Move, rename, or copy (copy: true) one or more files/directories to explicit destinations.
delete	Permanently delete one or more files or directories. This action is irreversible.
replace_text	Bulk search-and-replace across files matching a glob pattern.
patch	Apply a single-file unified diff and write the result.

Resources

URI	Description
internal://instructions	Server navigation guide — tools overview, constraints, and error recovery.
filesystem-mcp://file/{+path}	Read a workspace file. Subscribe to receive push notifications on change.
filesystem-mcp://result/{id}	Ephemeral cached tool output. Expires after ~60 seconds, eviction, or server restart.

Prompts

Prompt	Description
get-help	Return usage instructions, optionally filtered to a specific section.

Project structure

filesystem-mcp/
├── __tests__/        Test suites
├── src/
│   ├── core/         Path guarding, filesystem abstraction, concurrency, observability
│   ├── tools/        Tool definitions and registration
│   ├── index.ts      Process entrypoint and transport selection
│   ├── server.ts     Server factory and registrar composition
│   ├── transport/    stdio and Streamable HTTP transport setup
│   ├── prompts.ts    Prompt definitions and registration
│   └── resources.ts  Resource definitions and registration
└── Dockerfile        Multi-stage alpine build, non-root user

Runtime composition flows from src/index.ts to src/transport.ts, then to src/server.ts, the registrars, and finally src/core/. Each registrar owns the narrow dependency contract it consumes.

Path	Purpose
src/core/path.ts	PathGuard — validates every path against allowed roots
src/core/fs.ts	GuardedFileSystem — guarded filesystem facade
src/tools/define.ts	Tool registration and execution framework
src/tools/batch.ts	Batch helpers (runOverPaths, isTotalFailure)
src/server.ts	Builds shared dependencies and invokes the three registrars
src/transport.ts	Owns stdio and Streamable HTTP setup around the server factory

Configuration

The server starts with allowed directories from explicit startup configuration:

1. Positional directories passed to filesystem-mcp.
2. Environment variable FS_ALLOWED_DIRS (separated by : on POSIX or ; on Windows).
3. Current working directory when --allow-cwd is enabled.

Legacy MCP connections may additionally seed roots through the deprecated roots/list flow. Modern 2026-07-28 connections do not automatically send workspace roots. They can add access after startup by calling a tool with a concrete path and approving the elicitation-backed grant. list_roots reports the roots already configured or accepted; it cannot discover an unknown workspace by itself.

Recommended global recipes

VS Code / Cursor / Claude Code (primary recipe)

Configure the project directory explicitly:

Add to your global or project-scoped configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest", "/path/to/project"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (fallback recipe via environment variable)

Claude Desktop and similar clients don't support the MCP Roots protocol. Use the FS_ALLOWED_DIRS environment variable to configure allowed folders.

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "FS_ALLOWED_DIRS": "/path/to/project1:/path/to/project2"
      }
    }
  }
}

(On Windows, separate directories with a semicolon ; instead of a colon :).

Advanced / per-project positional arguments

You can also restrict access to specific directories by passing positional arguments directly:

# Start with explicit positional paths
filesystem-mcp /path/to/project1 /path/to/project2

---

Configuration reference

CLI flags

Flag	Default	Purpose
[dirs...]	—	One or more allowed root directories (positional)
--allow-cwd	false	Also allow the current working directory as a root
--walk-cwd	false	Walk up from CWD to find a project root; implies --allow-cwd
--allow-missing-roots	false	Start even if configured allowed directories do not exist
--port <n>	—	Enable Streamable HTTP transport on the given port (env: FS_PORT)
--http-host <host>	—	HTTP server bind address (env: FS_HTTP_HOST)
--api-key <key>	—	Require this API key on HTTP requests (env: FS_API_KEY)
--read-only	false	Disable write tools: create, edit, delete, move, patch, replace_text
--safe	false	Alias for --read-only
--deny <pattern>	—	Block paths matching this pattern; repeatable
--allow-sensitive	false	Allow access to sensitive system paths (env: FS_ALLOW_SENSITIVE)
--root-boundary <path>	—	Require all allowed roots to fall under this path (env: FS_ROOT_BOUNDARY)
--max-file-size <bytes>	—	Maximum file size for reads in bytes (env: FS_MAX_FILE_SIZE)
--log-level <level>	info	RFC 5424 log level, debug through emergency (env: FS_LOG_LEVEL)
--print-config	false	Print the active configuration and exit (use --json for machine-readable output)
--json	false	Output --print-config as JSON

Environment variables

All boolean variables accept true or 1 to enable and false, 0, or unset to disable; any other value logs a warning and reads as disabled. Flags take precedence when both are set.

Variable	Purpose
FS_ALLOWED_DIRS	Colon-separated (POSIX) or semicolon-separated (Windows) list of directories to allow.
FS_ROOT_BOUNDARY	Path prefix all allowed roots must fall under (mirrors --root-boundary).
FS_ALLOW_CWD_WALK	Walk up from CWD to find a project root (mirrors --walk-cwd).
FS_ALLOW_MISSING_ROOTS	Start even if configured directories do not exist (mirrors --allow-missing-roots).
FS_ALLOW_SENSITIVE	Allow access to sensitive system paths (mirrors --allow-sensitive).
FS_DENYLIST	Comma-separated list of paths or patterns to block (mirrors --deny).
FS_MAX_FILE_SIZE	Maximum file size for reads in bytes (mirrors --max-file-size).
FS_LOG_LEVEL	RFC 5424 log level: debug, info, notice, warn/warning, error, critical, alert, or emergency (mirrors --log-level).
FS_PORT	Start the Streamable HTTP transport on this port; unset = stdio (mirrors --port).
FS_HTTP_HOST	HTTP server bind address (mirrors --http-host).
FS_API_KEY	API key required on HTTP requests (mirrors --api-key).
FS_TRUST_PROXY	Express trust proxy setting: hop count or expression. Unset = do not trust X-Forwarded-*.
FS_ALLOWED_HOSTS	Comma-separated Host header values to accept (HTTP transport).
FS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS	Comma-separated origin hostnames for CORS.
FS_ALLOW_UNRESTRICTED_HOSTS	Bind a wildcard host with no Host validation (accepts the risk).
FS_PUBLIC_URL	Resource identifier URL for RFC 9728 discovery.
FS_RATE_LIMIT_RPM	Per-client-IP requests/minute (default 120 with API-key authentication, 6,000 for keyless loopback; range 1–100000).
FS_MAX_REQUEST_BYTES	Max HTTP request body bytes (default 4194304, 1024–268435456).
FS_KEEPALIVE_TIMEOUT_MS	HTTP keep-alive timeout in ms; set above any fronting proxy's idle timeout (default 5000, 1000–600000).
FS_MAX_WATCHERS	Max concurrent file watchers (default 256, 1–4096).
FS_MAX_INLINE_MATCHES	Deprecated and ignored; maxResults sets the search_text page size. Logs a warning when set; removed in the next major.
FS_MAX_READ_MANY_BYTES	Max total bytes across a batched read (default 524288, 10240–104857600).
FS_SEARCH_TIMEOUT_MS	Search timeout in ms (default 5000, 100–60000).
NO_COLOR	Any value disables ANSI color output.
FS_REQUEST_STATE_KEY	HMAC key sealing input_required requestState across retry rounds. Optional (random per boot if unset); set it, at >=32 bytes UTF-8, to keep in-flight rounds alive across a restart.

Examples

# Allow current working directory
filesystem-mcp --allow-cwd

# HTTP transport on port 3000
filesystem-mcp --port 3000

Scripts