Desktop Commander lets Claude run and interact with terminal processes, search across files and make targeted edits on your computer, which mainly helps Claude Desktop users who do not have Claude Code's built-in tools. It runs with your own user permissions and is not a sandbox, so its authors recommend the Docker install when you want isolation.

Who it is for

Claude Desktop users who want terminal access
People automating file clean-up and small scripts
Developers who prefer working from the desktop chat app

Prompts to try

Once it is connected, ask in plain words. Claude decides when to use the server and asks before it changes anything important.

Prompt 1

Find every .log file over 100 MB in my home folder and show me the list before deleting anything.

Prompt 2

Start the dev server in ~/projects/site, wait for it to boot and tell me if any errors appear.

Prompt 3

In config.yaml, change the port from 3000 to 8080 and show me the diff.

How to connect it

In Claude Code

$claude mcp add --scope user desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest

In the Claude desktop app

Run npx @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest setup, or add to claude_desktop_config.json: "desktop-commander": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander@latest"]}

Good to know

Folder limits apply only to its file tools, not to terminal commands; pseudonymous telemetry is on by default and can be turned off by setting telemetryEnabled to false.

Unlock the setup steps

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How we checked it

Checked the GitHub repo (MIT, 10.1k stars, v0.3.0 released 2026-10-13), its install, telemetry and security sections, and the npm package @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander.

Source: github.com/wonderwhy-er/DesktopCommanderMCP

Desktop Commander