Terminal MCP Server Quick Start Guide

Overview

Terminal MCP Server lets you execute terminal commands through Claude Desktop using the Model Context Protocol.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+
• TypeScript
• Claude Desktop

Setup

Installation

git clone https://github.com/stat-guy/terminal.git
cd terminal
npm install
npm run build

Configure Claude Desktop

Edit your Claude Desktop configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "terminal": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "[PATH_TO_REPO]/dist/index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERMISSION_REQUIRED": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace [PATH_TO_REPO] with your actual repository path.

Important: Restart Claude Desktop after configuration.

Usage

Ask Claude to perform terminal commands:

• Execute ls -la to see files in my current directory
• What's my current working directory?
• Change to my Downloads folder

Available Tools

• execute_command: Run any terminal command with arguments
• change_directory: Change working directory (maintains state)
• get_current_directory: Get current directory path
• get_terminal_info: Show shell, user, platform, and command history

Development

Monitor changes with:

npm run watch

After code changes:

npm run build

Security

• User permission required for command execution
• Environment control via configuration
• Timeout and error handling included

License

MIT