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Prerequisites

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Claude Desktop

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Node.js

node --version

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Understanding MCP Servers

• Reading file contents and directory structures
• Creating new files and directories
• Moving and renaming files
• Searching for files by name or content

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Installing the Filesystem Server

1

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Start by accessing the Claude Desktop settings. Click on the Claude menu in your system’s menu bar (not the settings within the Claude window itself) and select “Settings…”On macOS, this appears in the top menu bar:

This opens the Claude Desktop configuration window, which is separate from your Claude account settings.

2

Access Developer Settings

In the Settings window, navigate to the “Developer” tab in the left sidebar. This section contains options for configuring MCP servers and other developer features.Click the “Edit Config” button to open the configuration file:

This action creates a new configuration file if one doesn’t exist, or opens your existing configuration. The file is located at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

3

Configure the Filesystem Server

Replace the contents of the configuration file with the following JSON structure. This configuration tells Claude Desktop to start the Filesystem Server with access to specific directories:

macOS

Windows

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/Users/username/Desktop",
        "/Users/username/Downloads"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Replace username with your actual computer username. The paths listed in the args array specify which directories the Filesystem Server can access. You can modify these paths or add additional directories as needed.

Understanding the Configuration

• "filesystem": A friendly name for the server that appears in Claude Desktop
• "command": "npx": Uses Node.js’s npx tool to run the server
• "-y": Automatically confirms the installation of the server package
• "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem": The package name of the Filesystem Server
• The remaining arguments: Directories the server is allowed to access

Security ConsiderationOnly grant access to directories you’re comfortable with Claude reading and modifying. The server runs with your user account permissions, so it can perform any file operations you can perform manually.

4

Restart Claude Desktop

After saving the configuration file, completely quit Claude Desktop and restart it. The application needs to restart to load the new configuration and start the MCP server.Upon successful restart, click the “Add files, connectors, and more /” indicator in the bottom-left corner of the conversation input box:

Click on this indicator, then move the mouse over “Connectors” and click “Manage connectors”. Select “filesystem” from the connector list to view the Filesystem Server’s available tools:

If the Filesystem Server doesn’t connect, refer to the Troubleshooting section for debugging steps.

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Using the Filesystem Server

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File Management Examples

• “Can you write a poem and save it to my desktop?” - Claude will compose a poem and create a new text file on your desktop
• “What work-related files are in my downloads folder?” - Claude will scan your downloads and identify work-related documents
• “Please organize all images on my desktop into a new folder called ‘Images’” - Claude will create a folder and move image files into it

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How Approval Works

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Troubleshooting

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /Users/username/Desktop /Users/username/Downloads

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem C:\Users\username\Desktop C:\Users\username\Downloads

tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

type "%APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log"

{
  "brave-search": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"],
    "env": {
      "APPDATA": "C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Roaming\\",
      "BRAVE_API_KEY": "..."
    }
  }
}

npm install -g npm

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Next Steps