Claude Desktop: set up a local filesystem MCP server

This tutorial connects Claude Desktop on Windows to the filesystem component of MCP Reference Servers. The presenter installs the desktop app, opens Settings > Developer > Edit configuration, and adds a server entry with an npx command and two allowed directories. The supplied description lists Node.js as a prerequisite for these commands. The presenter uses forward slashes in directory paths and warns that backslashes caused configuration errors in this setup.

After saving the configuration, the presenter exits and reopens Claude Desktop. The connector then appears as local files, with controls for individual tools. The walkthrough sets reading tools to require approval and leaves writing and deletion operations blocked. During chat, the presenter grants ongoing permission to directory tools, so a later listing request does not prompt again.

The examples list ten DOCX files in a notes folder and three PDFs in a downloads folder. Document access has a limitation in the demonstration: Claude cannot read the selected Azure Data Explorer PDF through the connector. The presenter attaches it manually and receives a summary. The local component here is the MCP server and its access to selected folders; the tutorial does not establish offline model inference or that file contents remain on the computer.