How to use the Filesystem MCP server

Every MCP host stores its server configuration in a specific JSON file. For Claude Desktop on macOS, open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. For Claude Desktop on Windows, open %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. For Cursor, open Settings > Features > MCP Servers, or edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly. For VS Code with GitHub Copilot, open your settings.json or .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace. Create the file if it does not exist yet.

1# macOS — Claude Desktop config location:
2~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
3
4# Cursor config location:
5~/.cursor/mcp.json
6
7# VS Code workspace config:
8.vscode/mcp.json

Add a new entry inside the mcpServers object (or servers for VS Code). The command is npx with the -y flag so it auto-confirms installation. The last argument is the directory path you want the AI to access. You can list multiple directories by adding more path arguments. Only the directories you list will be accessible — everything else is blocked by default.

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "filesystem": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": [
6        "-y",
7        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
8        "/Users/me/Projects"
9      ]
10    }
11  }
12}

MCP servers are started when your AI host launches. After saving the configuration file, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code. In Claude Desktop, you should see a small hammer icon in the chat input area indicating that MCP tools are available. In Cursor, check Settings > Features > MCP Servers to confirm the filesystem server shows a green status.

Send a prompt asking your AI to read a specific file from your allowed directory. The AI will call the read_file tool behind the scenes and return the contents. This confirms the server is working and has access to the directory you configured.

1Example prompt:
2"Read the contents of /Users/me/Projects/my-app/package.json and summarize the dependencies."

The Filesystem server exposes several tools beyond read_file. Use write_file to create or overwrite files, search_files to find text patterns across your project, list_directory to see folder contents, create_directory to make new folders, move_file to rename or relocate files, and get_file_info for metadata like size and modification date. Each tool operates only within your allowed directories.

1Example prompts:
2
3"List all files in /Users/me/Projects/my-app/src"
4
5"Search for all occurrences of TODO in my project directory"
6
7"Create a new file at /Users/me/Projects/my-app/src/utils/helpers.ts with a function that formats dates"

If you use VS Code with GitHub Copilot, the configuration key is servers instead of mcpServers. Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your workspace root with the correct format. This gives Copilot access to your project files through the same Filesystem MCP server.

1{
2  "servers": {
3    "filesystem": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": [
6        "-y",
7        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
8        "/Users/me/Projects/my-app"
9      ]
10    }
11  }
12}