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Desktop Commander MCP Server

Local MCP server that gives AI assistants terminal control, process management, filesystem operations, search, diff editing, and document handling for desktop automation and development workflows.

by wonderwhy-er·added 2026-06-05·

Claude CodeClaude Desktop

HarnessClaude CodeClaude Desktop

Install

Source

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup

Readiness

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Documentation Source repository Registry JSON · LLM text

Review first — review before installing

Open the source and read safety notes before installing.

Safety notes

Desktop Commander can run shell commands, stream process output, start and stop processes, read and write files, edit documents, search directories, and change local configuration.
The project's security policy describes built-in restrictions as guardrails rather than hardened security boundaries.
Directory restrictions and command blocklists may be bypassed through terminal access, symlinks, absolute paths, or command substitution.
Use Docker with selective folder mounts when stronger isolation is required.
Review file edits, command execution, process termination, and document rewrites before letting an agent act on important systems.

Privacy notes

Local files, terminal output, environment-derived paths, process listings, command arguments, audit logs, spreadsheets, PDFs, DOCX files, and source code may be exposed to the MCP client and model.
Tool logs can contain secrets, customer data, credentials, private repository paths, database output, and internal documents.
If using remote AI clients or the project's remote MCP option, review where prompts, tool calls, and file content are transmitted and retained.

Prerequisites

Node.js for the npx installation path, or Docker for the isolated installation path.
Claude Desktop or another MCP client that can launch local stdio servers.
Clear list of directories, commands, and long-running processes an assistant may access.
Backups or version control for files the agent may edit.

Schema details

Install type: cli
Troubleshooting: No

Source repository stats

Scope: Source repo

Collection metadata

Estimated setup: 10 minutes
Difficulty: intermediate

Tool listing metadata

Website: https://desktopcommander.app/

Full copyable content

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]
    }
  }
}

About this resource

Content

Desktop Commander MCP gives AI assistants local terminal, filesystem, process, search, and document-editing capabilities. It builds on MCP filesystem concepts and adds process control, command streaming, recursive search, diff editing, document support, configuration management, audit logging, and optional Docker isolation.

The project is useful when a user wants Claude Desktop or another MCP client to work with local code, text files, spreadsheets, PDFs, DOCX files, and long running development processes from one chat workflow.

Source Review

These sources were reviewed on 2026-06-05. Prefer the live repository for current setup options, Docker guidance, security notes, supported file formats, and command behavior.

Features

Terminal command execution with streaming output, timeouts, and background process support.
Process listing, process termination, and long-running command session management.
Filesystem read, write, move, directory listing, metadata, recursive search, and diff-style editing tools.
Excel, PDF, and DOCX read/edit workflows described by the project.
In-memory execution for Python, Node.js, and R snippets.
Audit logging and configuration management.
Docker installation path for stronger isolation and selective folder mounts.

Installation

For the Claude Desktop npx setup path:

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup

For manual MCP configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "desktop-commander": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Use the Docker setup documented in the README when you need stronger isolation or want to restrict which host folders are mounted into the tool environment.

Use Cases

Let an assistant search, inspect, and edit a local repository.
Stream and monitor development servers, test commands, or database shells.
Convert rough instructions into file edits while preserving a reviewable diff.
Read and update local spreadsheets, PDFs, or DOCX files from a chat workflow.
Run controlled local automation tasks with audit logs.

Safety and Privacy

Desktop Commander is a high-trust local automation server. Treat it like giving an agent shell and filesystem access. Keep important work under version control, limit mounted directories, prefer Docker for sensitive environments, and review commands and file edits before they affect production systems or private data.

Audit logs and tool outputs may contain sensitive local data. Protect or rotate logs when working with credentials, customer data, internal documents, or private repositories.

Duplicate Check

No wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP entry or source URL was found in content/mcp. This entry is separate from the reference filesystem MCP server and other editor-specific local automation tools.

#terminal#filesystem#automation#editing#local

Source citations

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