Claude Desktop Commander

You can run long-running terminal commands, manage processes, and perform file edits directly from Claude Desktop through an MCP server that runs locally on your computer. This server exposes terminal and filesystem capabilities to Claude actions, enabling seamless command execution, live output streaming, and surgical or full-file edits via MCP.

How to use

You connect to the local MCP server from your Claude Desktop session and issue tool calls that map to terminal or filesystem actions. For long-running commands, start the command with execute_command, then read incremental output with read_output using the returned PID. When you need to stop work, use force_terminate to end an active command session. You can list ongoing sessions, view active processes, and terminate specific processes by PID. For file editing, use read_file and write_file for basic operations, create or list directories, move items, and search files. Surgical edits are done with edit_block for small changes, while write_file can rewrite entire files for larger modifications.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Claude Desktop installed and Node.js with npm available on your system.

Option 1 Install via Smithery (automatic integration):

# Install Desktop Commander for Claude Desktop via Smithery
npx -y @smithery/cli install @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander --client claude

Option 2 Install through npx (manual setup):

npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander setup

Restart Claude if running

Option 3 Add to claude\_desktop\_config by hand (shown entry):

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

Restart Claude if running

Option 4 Checkout locally and build (manual source flow):

git clone https://github.com/wonderwhy-er/ClaudeComputerCommander.git
cd ClaudeComputerCommander
npm run setup

Restart Claude if running

## Available tools

### execute\_command

Run terminal commands with configurable timeout and capture initial output, enabling long-running processes to start.

### read\_output

Retrieve incremental output from an ongoing command session using its PID.

### force\_terminate

Immediately stop a running command session or process.

### list\_sessions

List active command sessions to monitor long-running tasks.

### list\_processes

Display current system processes to identify targets for management.

### kill\_process

Terminate a process by its PID to stop undesired tasks.

### block\_command

Blacklist a command to prevent its execution within the MCP server.

### unblock\_command

Remove a command from the blacklist to allow execution again.

### read\_file

Read the contents of a file from the local filesystem.

### write\_file

Write or overwrite the contents of a file on disk.

### create\_directory

Create a new directory in the filesystem.

### list\_directory

List files and subdirectories within a directory.

### move\_file

Move or rename a file or directory.

### search\_files

Search for files using patterns across the filesystem.

### get\_file\_info

Retrieve metadata and properties about a file.

### edit\_block

Apply surgical text replacements within a file for small changes.

### search\_replace\_block

Apply a block-based search and replace for larger edits.