check_sourcesLABSCO SUMMARY
A shared folder somewhere else becomes something an agent can keep an eye on.
Instead of syncing a whole drive locally and grepping it, you register the locations once and then ask what has appeared — and the answer already contains the text of the new documents rather than a list of filenames.
What it is
A watcher for remote file locations. It reaches them through rclone, which covers more than seventy storage providers, or through shell commands you supply, and it keeps state between runs so it can tell you what is new since last time.
What you get
- Several remote locations tracked at once — Google Drive, S3, SFTP, a local directory — each configured separately
- New and changed files identified by diffing against stored state, not by re-reading everything
- Text pulled out of DOCX, PDF and plain-text files, so the content arrives rather than the file
- Any backend rclone speaks, plus custom list and download commands for the ones it does not
- Downloads deleted once the content has been extracted, with a length cap you set
Requirements
Node.js 18 or newer and npm, plus rclone if you use that transport — the included installer can put rclone in place and walk you through configuring a remote. Sources live in a config file at ~/.config/remote-files/config.json, and an environment variable overrides that path.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/eric-wien/remote-files-mcp
USE CASES
01
Catching up on what landed in a shared drive overnight
Register the folder once, then ask what is new. State from the previous check is what makes the answer short — only the files that appeared or changed come back.
02
Reading a report without downloading it
Pull one file by name and get its text back — DOCX, PDF or plain text are extracted on the way through, and the downloaded copy is cleaned up afterwards.
03
Watching several places at once
A Drive folder, an S3 prefix and a directory on a server can all be tracked side by side, each with its own exclude patterns, so one question covers everywhere the documents might arrive.
04
Reaching storage rclone does not cover
Give a source your own list and download commands — an ssh find, an scp — and it is monitored on the same footing as the built-in providers.
3 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
init_sourcefetch_fileBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
3 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
Node.js >= 18
Where it runs
The documented client runs the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/eric-wien/remote-files-mcp
cd remote-files-mcp
bash install.shinstall.sh registers the server with Claude Code only if the claude CLI is installed. For any other client, add the stdio command node <YOUR_PATH_TO_REMOTE_FILES_MCP>/dist/index.js in that client's own format; the project publishes no other client configuration.
MCP Clients
Claude Code
CLAUDE CODE · TERMINAL
claude mcp add --transport stdio remote-files -- node <YOUR_PATH_TO_REMOTE_FILES_MCP>/dist/index.js
