MCP Filesystem: Dedicated Resources & Seamless AI Workflows

MCP Filesystem: A Model Context Protocol server with dedicated resources for every workspace file, enabling seamless AI workflows and optimized performance at scale.

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About MCP Filesystem

What is MCP Filesystem: Dedicated Resources & Seamless AI Workflows?

MCP Filesystem is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed to expose individual files in a workspace as dedicated resources. It provides real-time monitoring and notification capabilities for file changes, while respecting project-specific exclusion rules like .gitignore. This tool bridges the gap between file system operations and AI-driven workflows by standardizing resource access and event communication.

How to use MCP Filesystem: Dedicated Resources & Seamless AI Workflows?

Installation requires Go 1.18+, after which you run:

go install github.com/isaacphi/mcp-filesystem@latest

Configure clients (e.g., Claude Desktop) by specifying the server path and workspace directory in their MCP settings. The server automatically registers all non-ignored files as resources with MIME type detection, enabling clients to access content via standardized API calls.

For development, override the default binary path in client config to test local builds with:

"command": "/full/path/to/mcp-filesystem"

MCP Filesystem Features

Key Features of MCP Filesystem: Dedicated Resources & Seamless AI Workflows?

Granular Resource Management - Every file becomes an addressable resource with metadata like MIME type and encoding
Smart File Watching - Detects creation/edits/deletions with debounce optimization for high-change scenarios
Project Awareness - Integrates .gitignore logic to exclude build artifacts and configuration files
Protocol Compliance - Implements MCP standards for resource listing, change notifications, and content retrieval

Use cases for MCP Filesystem: Dedicated Resources & Seamless AI Workflows?

Developers use this tool for:

Real-time data pipelines requiring file state synchronization
AI model training workflows needing versioned dataset tracking
CI/CD integrations that require selective file monitoring
Multi-tool collaboration where file metadata needs to be programmatically accessible

MCP Filesystem FAQ

FAQ: Getting the Most from MCP Filesystem?

Q: How do I debug connection issues?
Enable verbose logging by setting MCP_DEBUG=1 in environment variables. Check client configuration matches the server's exposed port (default 8080).

Q: Can I exclude specific file types not in .gitignore?
Modify the client's MCP configuration to add custom exclusion patterns using mcp.ignore_patterns parameter.

Q: Why are some file changes not detected immediately?
The debounce feature delays notifications by 200ms by default. Adjust with MCP_DEBOUNCE env variable for low-latency requirements.

Content

MCP Filesystem

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes resources for each file in a working directory and sends change notifications.

Status

⚠️ Pre-beta Quality ⚠️

"It works on my machine". Issues are welcome ❤️

Features

Resources : Creates one MCP resource for each file in your workspace
Gitignore Support : Respects .gitignore rules
Change Notification : Detects file changes, additions, and deletions
MIME Type Detection and Encoding Handling : Identifies file types and handles various text encodings

Setup

Install Go: Follow instructions at https://golang.org/doc/install

Fetch or update this server:

go install github.com/isaacphi/mcp-filesystem@latest

Add the following to your client configuration (located at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "mcp-filesystem",
      "args": ["--workspace", "/path/to/your/repository"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/your/repository with the absolute path to your project directory.

Usage

Your client will be able to access and reference all non-ignored files in your repository as MCP resources. Each file is registered as a separate resource with appropriate MIME type detection.

Client Requirements

Your client needs to support the following MCP features:

Resource Listing: The ability to list and access resources exposed by the server Change Notifications: Support for receiving notifications/resources/list_changed events Resource Content Access: Ability to request and render resource content with appropriate MIME types

About

This project uses:

mcp-golang for MCP communication
fsnotify for file system event monitoring
go-gitignore for parsing .gitignore files

Development

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/isaacphi/mcp-filesystem.git
cd mcp-filesystem

Install dependencies:

go mod download

Build:

go build

Configure you client to use your local build:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "/full/path/to/your/mcp-filesystem/mcp-filesystem",
      "args": ["--workspace", "/path/to/repository"],
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Feedback

Please submit issues with as many details as you can.

Set the DEBUG environment variable to enable verbose logging:

"env": {
  "DEBUG": "1"
}

Features on my radar

Resources for each file in workspace
.gitignore support
Change notifications
Standardize MCP protocol use to work with more clients (Claude Desktop)
Configurable support for line numbers
Resource update subscriptions
Additional ignore patterns (beyond .gitignore)
Debounced notifications for high-volume file changes
info, create, edit, and delete tools