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DesktopCommanderMCP
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DesktopCommanderMCP

Active·★ 10.1k·MIT·Updated 2026-10-27
★ Most Popular★ Essential★ Trending

Desktop Commander is an MCP server that gives AI assistants such as Claude terminal control and file-system access on your computer. It builds on the MCP filesystem server and adds long-running terminal commands with interactive process control, file search and diff-based editing, so a chat assistant can work like a coding agent while using your existing client subscription instead of API tokens.

It suits people who use Claude Desktop or other chat clients for development and data work and want them to run commands, edit code and analyse files directly. Beyond the terminal, it can execute Python, Node.js or R code in memory, analyse CSV, JSON and Excel files, read, create and edit Excel, PDF and Word documents, and interact with running processes such as SSH sessions, databases and development servers. A file-preview UI renders Markdown and images in Claude Desktop, and a remote mode makes it usable from ChatGPT, Claude web and other services.

Getting started: run `npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup` to configure Claude Desktop, or use the Docker installer for an isolated environment. Review the configuration, especially allowed directories and blocked commands, before you rely on it.

This write-up is based on the project's README and public repository data. We have not hand-tested the tool. Data as of 2026-10-24.

License
MIT
Latest release
v0.3.1 · 2026-10-22
Last commit
2026-10-24
Contributors
39
Forks
1,257
Open issues and PRs
300
First published
2024-12-04
npm package
@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander 0.3.1 · 394,686 downloads last week

Source: GitHub, npm and PyPI public APIs.

#AI#Terminal Automation#File Management#MCP#Code Execution#Web Browsing#Coding
$ Install
$ npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup
↗ Visit site★ GitHub
01

Features

01Remote AI Control from ChatGPT, Claude web, and other AI services
02Enhanced terminal commands with interactive process control
03Execute code in memory (Python, Node.js, R) without saving files
04Instant data analysis with native Excel (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm) file support
05PDF support for reading text, creating new PDFs from markdown, and modifying existing PDFs
02

Why choose it

+Turns a chat client into a capable local agent without per-token API costs.
+Strong terminal support, including long-running and interactive processes.
+Built-in handling of Excel, PDF and Word files and in-memory code execution.
+Docker installation option for isolation; MIT licensed.
03

Trade-offs

!It gives an AI broad control of your machine; the project states its guardrails (blocklist, symlink checks) are not a sandbox, so use Docker isolation for anything sensitive.
!Configuration such as allowed directories and blocked commands matters a lot and is easy to leave too permissive.
!Optional telemetry exists alongside local tool-call logs; check the settings if that matters to you.
04

Maintenance check

ActiveChecked: 2026-10-25
Last commit
2026-10-24
Commits, last 90 days
100+
Releases, last 90 days
6
Latest release
v0.3.1 (2026-10-22)
Open issues
302
Recent issues with at least one comment
7/15
Commits per week, last 12 weeks
Commits per week, last 12 weeks: 0, 1, 1, 9, 11, 9, 214, 20, 33, 26, 22, 0

Oldest week on the left; the latest four weeks are orange. Source: GitHub commit activity.

Status rule: archived on GitHub = Archived; last commit within 90 days = Active; 91 to 365 days = Slowing; older = Stale. All figures come from the GitHub API on the date shown.

Most discussed open issues

  • #798 Remote dashboard shows device Online, but Remote MCP reports offline and rejects tool calls18 comments · 2026-09-29
  • #622 [Remote MCP] Successful device verification returns terminated Supabase session17 comments · 2026-08-04
  • #731 Windows PowerShell here-string parsing falsely identifies embedded C++ Format as blocked shell command format14 comments · 2026-09-20
  • #39 Stuck while trying to read any dir inside /Users/myUser/a-dir in MacOS Sonoma12 comments · 2025-03-30
  • #242 Claude Desktop extension submission follow-ups11 comments · 2025-09-16

Issue titles are quoted from GitHub. Open the link to check whether a problem still applies to the version you use.

05

Compatibility

Claude Desktop
Native
Verified via docs
ChatGPT
Supported (Remote MCP)
Verified via docs
Claude Web
Supported (Remote MCP)
Verified via docs
Docker
Supported
Verified via docs
06

Quick start

1
$ npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup
07

Use cases

↳Automated organization of file directories (e.g., Downloads folder)
↳Instant data analysis of CSV/Excel files using Python
↳Exploring and understanding complex codebases
08

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On this page
01Features02Why choose it03Trade-offs04Maintenance check05Compatibility06Quick start07Use cases08Alternatives
wonderwhy-er /
DesktopCommanderMCP
↗

MCP server giving Claude terminal and file-system control

10.1k1.3kMIT
Last commit1d ago
StatusActive
CategoryCode Assistant
Contributors39
Latest releasev0.3.1
Links
Documentation↗Discussion↗Issues↗Releases↗
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