Desktop Commander MCP
by wonderwhy-er
AI-powered file management and terminal execution with in-memory code running
filesystem Node.js Beginner Self-hostable No API key Docker
⭐ 5.6k stars 📅 Updated: 1mo ago
Description
MCP server that enables AI assistants to search, update, and manage files while running terminal commands with full process control. Provides in-memory code execution for Python, Node.js, and R without writing temporary files. Includes native Excel and PDF reading support, recursive code search across directories, session management for long-running processes, and audit logging for all operations. Docker and remote MCP access are also available, making it suitable for both local development and server-side deployment.
✅ Best for
Developers who want a single MCP server for file management, terminal access, and quick code execution
⏭️ Skip if
You need strictly sandboxed code execution in a cloud environment
💡 Use cases
- Managing files and directories through AI assistants with natural language
- Running terminal commands and long-lived processes with session persistence
- Executing Python, Node.js, or R code snippets in-memory for quick analysis
- Searching codebases recursively with pattern matching from AI-driven workflows
👍 Pros
- ✓ Comprehensive toolset covering files, terminal, and code execution in one server
- ✓ In-memory code execution for Python, Node.js, and R avoids temp file clutter
- ✓ Native Excel and PDF support without additional dependencies
- ✓ Audit logging provides accountability for all AI-initiated operations
👎 Cons
- ✗ Broad system access requires careful permission configuration in production
- ✗ Terminal command execution carries inherent security risks with untrusted inputs
- ✗ No built-in sandboxing for code execution on the local machine
🔧 Exposed tools (9 tools)
| Tool | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| run_python | code-execution | Execute Python code in-memory without writing temp files |
| run_nodejs | code-execution | Execute Node.js code in-memory without writing temp files |
| read_file | filesystem | Read the contents of a file from the filesystem |
| write_file | filesystem | Write or update content to a file |
| read_excel | filesystem | Read and parse Excel files natively |
| read_pdf | filesystem | Read and extract content from PDF files |
| search_code | search | Recursively search code across directories with pattern matching |
| execute_command | terminal | Execute a terminal command with process control |
| manage_process | terminal | Manage long-running processes with session persistence |
⚡ Installation
Prerequisites:
- • Node.js v18+
Check Claude Code documentation to configure this MCP server.
💡 Tips & tricks
Run npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup for automatic configuration. Use the audit log to review all operations performed by the AI. For production use, consider running inside Docker to limit filesystem access.
Quick info
- Author
- wonderwhy-er
- License
- MIT
- Runtime
- Node.js 18+
- Transport
- stdio
- Category
- filesystem
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Self-hostable
- ✅
- Auth
- —
- Docker
- 🐳 Docker available
- Version
- latest
- Updated
- Feb 28, 2026
Client compatibility
- ✅ Claude Code
- ✅ Cursor
- ❓ VS Code Copilot
- ❓ Gemini CLI
- ❓ Windsurf
- ❓ Cline
- ❓ JetBrains AI
- ❓ Warp
Platforms
🍎 macOS 🐧 Linux 🪟 Windows