Local Files MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables Claude Desktop to safely interact with your local file system. Built with C# .NET 8.0, this server provides secure file operations within your home directory, allowing Claude to read, write, list, and manage files directly on your computer.

🤖 What is this?

This MCP server bridges the gap between Claude Desktop (Anthropic's desktop application) and your local file system. Once configured, you can ask Claude to:

• "List all files in my Documents folder"
• "Read the contents of my project's README file"
• "Create a new Python script called hello.py"
• "Delete the temporary files in my Downloads folder"

The server uses the Model Context Protocol, a standardized way for AI assistants to securely access external resources. It communicates with Claude Desktop through JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdin/stdout, providing a secure sandbox that restricts all operations to your home directory.

🌟 Features

• 🔒 Secure: All operations restricted to your home directory
• 📁 File Browsing: List files and directories with detailed metadata
• 📖 File Reading: Read text files with encoding detection and size limits
• ✏️ File Writing: Create and edit files with atomic write operations
• 🗑️ File Deletion: Remove files and directories with safety checks
• 🛡️ Safety First: Binary file detection, size limits, path validation

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• .NET 8.0 SDK or later
• Windows, macOS, or Linux

Installation

Option 1: Automated Setup (Recommended)

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/local-files-mcp-server.git
   cd local-files-mcp-server
   

2. Run the setup script:

   .\setup.ps1
   

   This will:

   • Build and publish the MCP server
   • Automatically configure Claude Desktop
   • Create the necessary configuration files

3. Restart Claude Desktop and look for "✅ local-files: connected"

💡 Tip: You can verify the MCP server connection status in Claude Desktop by going to Settings → Developer where you'll see all configured MCP servers and their connection status.

Option 2: Manual Setup

1. Clone and build:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/local-files-mcp-server.git
   cd local-files-mcp-server
   dotnet build
   

2. For Claude Desktop integration:

   • Publish the executable: dotnet publish -c Release -o publish --self-contained true -r win-x64 /p:PublishSingleFile=true
   • Copy claude_desktop_config.json to %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
   • Edit the config file to replace PATH_TO_REPO with your actual repository path
   • Restart Claude Desktop

3. For direct usage:

   dotnet run --project LocalFilesMcpServer
   

The server communicates via stdin/stdout using JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol.

� Screenshots

See the MCP server in action with Claude Desktop:

• Creating Directories - Creating new directories through Claude Desktop
• Listing Files - Browsing directory contents with detailed metadata
• Writing Files - Creating new files with custom content
• Reading Files - Reading and analyzing file contents
• Deleting Directories - Removing directories and cleaning up

These screenshots demonstrate the complete file management workflow available through Claude Desktop integration.

�📋 Available Tools

1. list_files - Browse Directory Contents

Lists files and directories with metadata

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "list_files",
    "arguments": {
      "path": "Documents"
    }
  }
}

2. read_file - R

... View full README on GitHub