copy_fileLABSCO SUMMARY
Ordinary file work, with a backup taken before anything is destroyed.
The distinguishing choices here are small and practical: copies and moves take a backup first, deletes run behind safety checks, and named collections give an assistant a way to hold on to a set of files it keeps coming back to. On Windows it reaches further than most, into drives and special folders. The author's own known-issues list, which names deletion as unreliable, is worth taking at face value before letting an assistant remove anything.
What it is
A local file-system server: reading and writing file contents, copying and moving with a backup taken first, deleting behind safety checks, searching by name pattern, listing a directory or walking it as a tree, and reporting sizes and timestamps. It also answers questions about the machine itself — operating system, CPU, memory, disk usage, and a directory's file count and total size. Depth differs by platform: Windows gets drive listing, special-folder access and detailed system information through pywin32 and WMI, while macOS and Linux get the file and directory operations with basic system information. The repository is archived, and its own known-issues list records that file deletion and drive listing are both unreliable.
What you get
- File contents read and written, and files copied, moved or deleted, with a backup taken before destructive operations
- A file's own record — size, creation time, modification time
- Files found by name pattern, and directories found the same way
- A directory listed, created or deleted, or walked recursively as a tree
- Named collections that group related files, stored in a location you choose
- The machine's operating system, CPU, memory and disk usage, and a directory's file count and total size
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/calebmwelsh/file-system-mcp-server.git
USE CASES
01
Letting an assistant work in a directory it can see
List what is there, walk the tree when the structure matters, and read the files it needs to answer from.
02
Finding the file you half-remember
Search files and directories by name pattern, then read the record — size and timestamps — to work out which one it was.
03
Reorganising a folder without losing anything
Create the destination, then copy or move into it with a backup taken before each destructive step.
04
Grouping the files a task keeps returning to
Name a collection of related files and store it where you choose, so the same set does not have to be described again next session.
05
Checking there is room before writing
Read disk usage and the directory's own file count and total size before an assistant generates output into it.
16 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
move_filedelete_fileread_filewrite_fileget_file_infosearch_filescreate_collectionlist_directorycreate_directorydelete_directorylist_directory_recursivelysearch_directoriesget_system_infoget_disk_infoget_directory_infoBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
16 tools named in the project's documentation.
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
You clone this one yourself.
Server setup
Clone the repository:
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/calebmwelsh/file-system-mcp-server.git
cd file-system-mcp-serverCreate and activate a virtual environment:
TERMINAL
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activateInstall dependencies:
TERMINAL
pip install -r requirements.txtMCP Clients
Claude Desktop
CLAUDE DESKTOP · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"file-system": {
"command": "<YOUR_PATH_TO_PYTHON>",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_FILE_SYSTEM_MCP_SERVER>/fs_server.py"
]
}
}
}
