Introduction

In this blog post, I will guide you through the detailed process of configuring and running pre-built servers with the Claude desktop application. I will be covering up the prerequisites needed to ensure a smooth setup, including necessary software installations and system requirements. Following this, I will provide a step-by-step walkthrough of the configuration process and highlighting key settings. By the end of this post, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively integrate and operate the MCP with the Claude desktop application, allowing you to fully leverage its capabilities.

In this tutorial, you will extend Claude for Desktop so that it can read from your computer’s file system, write new files, move files, and even search files.

Pre-requisites

• Claude for Desktop

• FIleSystem MCP Server

• Node

Configuration Steps

Navigate to File → Settings → Developer and click on Edit Config.

File explorer will be opened to edit - claude_desktop_config.json file

Open “claude_desktop_config.json” file in your favorite editor and you will see, just {} , as there are no MCP servers are configure.

Code Snippet

Now, place the below code snippet, save the file and restart Claude for Desktop.
{ "mcpServers": {
"filesystem": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [ "-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "C:\Users\mural\Downloads" ]
}
}
}

Note : Here, I will be loading the documents and folders from my downloads folder and you can your folders where do you want to load the contents.

Now, you can see, a new “Hammer” icon in the Chat window with tooltip saying available MCP tools.

On Click of the MCP tools and you can the window displaying the available MCP tools.

Now, it’s the time to interact with the downloads folder contents using MCP tools in Claude for Desktop.

Query: Summarize the contents from the downloads folder

Here is the output summary generated by Claude for Desktop with MCP Server (Filesystem).

Output

Summary of Downloads Folder

1. Software Installers (39 files):

   • Development tools: Git, VS Code, Android Studio, NodeJS

   • Database systems: PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQL Server

   • Communication tools: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Chime

   • Utilities: AnyDesk, Firefox, 7-Zip, Notepad++, CPU-Z

2. Programming and Development Files (29 files):

   • Code files: JavaScript, C#, JSON files

3. Documents (22 files):

   • PDFs: Technical manuals, books

4. Images (16 files):

   • PNG files: Screenshots, design elements, visual selections

5. Data Archives and Backups (7 files):

   • ZIP files: Backup files, SDK packages

The downloads folder contains a mix of professional development tools, programming resources, and business documents. Many files appear to be related to data processing, suggesting work in that domain. There are also several Microsoft Azure and cloud service related documents, indicating cloud-based development work.

Conclusion

This blog post has walked you through the process of extending Claude for Desktop with filesystem capabilities using MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers. This powerful integration allows Claude to interact directly with your local files—reading, writing, moving, and searching through your computer's file system.
By following the straightforward configuration steps outlined in this tutorial, you've learned how to:

• Set up the necessary prerequisites

• Configure the claude_desktop_config.json file

• Connect Claude to specific folders on your computer

• Use the new MCP tools interface to interact with your files

The example we explored demonstrated how Claude can now summarize the contents of a folder, providing organized insights about file types and contents. This functionality opens up numerous possibilities for more efficient file management and information retrieval directly through Claude's intuitive interface.

With this setup complete, you can now leverage Claude's intelligence to process local documents, organize files, and extract meaningful information from your computer's file system—all without leaving the Claude for Desktop application. This integration represents a significant enhancement to Claude's capabilities, making it an even more versatile assistant for your daily computing needs.