Desktop Commander

Desktop Commander is an MCP server that lets Claude and other AI apps search and edit files and run terminal commands on your computer for vibe coders and power users.

What it is good for

  • Searching and editing files on your computer with AI
  • Running terminal commands through an AI chat
  • Analyzing CSV, JSON, and Excel files with AI
  • Managing long-running processes and development servers

At a glance

Who it is for
Setup
Guided command-line setup

Level 4 of 5. You copy and paste commands into a terminal by following the instructions. Comfortable territory for vibe coders.

Cost
Free and open source
Type
MCP server or connector
Tasks
Works with
Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Cline

Momentum

Rank this week
Not ranked yet
Best rank
None yet
GitHub stars
10,197

GitHub numbers as of Nov 2, 2026. Updated weekly.

9,609 9,925 10.2k Sep 24, 2026 Nov 2, 2026
GitHub stars for Desktop Commander: 9,653 on Sep 24, 2026, 10,197 on Nov 2, 2026. Source: GitHub.

Official links

Setup steps are on the official pages. We do not repeat them here, since they change.

Questions

Is Desktop Commander free?
Yes. It is free and open source (MIT license).
Do I need to know how to code to use Desktop Commander?
You do not need to write code, but setup means copying and pasting commands into a terminal by following its instructions.
What does Desktop Commander work with?
According to its own documentation, it works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and Cline.
What is Desktop Commander good for?
Searching and editing files on your computer with AI, running terminal commands through an AI chat, analyzing CSV, JSON, and Excel files with AI, and managing long-running processes and development servers.

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Last updated Nov 2, 2026. Tracked since Oct 28, 2026. The summary was written by an AI model from the project's own description and checked against our copy rules. Spotted an error? Tell us.