Filesystem MCP

Filesystem MCP runs locally from a Node.js package published to the npm registry: @j0hanz/filesystem-mcp version 2.7.1. It speaks MCP over stdio, so the client starts it as a program and talks to it through standard input and output. It needs Node.js; clients usually start it with npx — the usual command is npx -y @j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@2.7.1. It reads the environment variable FS_ALLOWED_DIRS; set it in the client's configuration for this server.

Filesystem MCP runs locally from a container image in an OCI registry such as Docker Hub or GitHub Container Registry: ghcr.io/j0hanz/filesystem-mcp:2.7.1. It speaks MCP over stdio, so the client starts it as a program and talks to it through standard input and output. It needs Docker or another OCI container runtime; started with docker run — the usual command is docker run -i --rm -e FS_ALLOWED_DIRS ghcr.io/j0hanz/filesystem-mcp:2.7.1. It reads the environment variable FS_ALLOWED_DIRS; set it in the client's configuration for this server. Required arguments: -i, --rm, -v and /workspace.

In the mcpServers JSON format that many desktop and editor MCP clients read, the entry looks like this (placeholders in angle brackets):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@j0hanz/filesystem-mcp@2.7.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "FS_ALLOWED_DIRS": "<value>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Derived from the registry entry, not tested here. What the server does, and on what terms, is set by its publisher; check its repository or website before giving it access to your accounts or files. How to add an MCP server to an assistant · Before you connect