Desktop Commander
Terminal control plus file-system search and diff-based editing across the OS.
Desktop Commander
Terminal control plus file-system search and diff-based editing across the OS. With Lunar.dev MCPX, the MCP Gateway for secure and governed tool access, you connect the Desktop Commander MCP server to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any MCP client through one gateway that routes, authenticates, and governs every Desktop Commander tool call against your policies.
Why MCPX
MCPX is Lunar.dev's MCP Gateway. It sits between your AI agents and your MCP servers as a single gateway for every tool call, routing, authenticating, and governing traffic against your policies. Connect Desktop Commander once and govern it everywhere: role-based access per agent with on-behalf-of attribution, real-time visibility, and an immutable audit trail of who did what, all deployable inside your own VPC.
Tools content
- get_config · Read-only
Get the complete server configuration as JSON (includes blockedCommands, defaultShell, allowedDirectories, fileReadLineLimit, fileWriteLineLimit, telemetryEnabled). - set_config_value · Write
Set a specific configuration value by key. - start_process · Write
Start programs with smart detection of when they're ready for input. - interact_with_process · Write
Send commands to running programs and get responses. - read_process_output · Read-only
Read output from running processes. - force_terminate · Write
Force terminate a running terminal session. - list_sessions · Read-only
List all active terminal sessions. - list_processes · Read-only
List all running processes with detailed information. - kill_process · Write
Terminate a running process by PID. - read_file · Read-only
Read contents from local filesystem, URLs, Excel files (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm), and PDFs with line/page-based pagination. - read_multiple_files · Read-only
Read multiple files simultaneously. - write_file · Write
Write file contents with options for rewrite or append mode. Supports Excel files (JSON 2D array format). For PDFs, use write_pdf. - write_pdf · Write
Create new PDF files from markdown or modify existing PDFs (insert/delete pages). Supports HTML/CSS styling and SVG graphics. - create_directory · Write
Create a new directory or ensure it exists. - list_directory · Read-only
Get detailed recursive listing of files and directories (supports depth parameter, default depth=2). - move_file · Write
Move or rename files and directories. - start_search · Read-only
Start streaming search for files by name or content patterns (searches text files and Excel content). - get_more_search_results · Read-only
Get paginated results from active search with offset support. - stop_search · Write
Stop an active search gracefully. - list_searches · Read-only
List all active search sessions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Desktop Commander MCP server?
Terminal control plus file-system search and diff-based editing across the OS. Through Lunar.dev MCPX, Desktop Commander connects to any MCP-compatible AI client behind a single governed gateway.
How do I connect Desktop Commander to MCPX?
Add the Desktop Commander server in the MCPX control plane or your app.yaml, then point your AI client at your MCPX gateway. MCPX handles no authentication and routes every Desktop Commander call through the gateway.
Is the Desktop Commander MCP server official?
Desktop Commander is a community-maintained MCP server. MCPX lets you risk-assess and sandbox it before rolling it out to your teams.
What authentication does Desktop Commander use with MCPX?
Desktop Commander requires no authentication. MCPX still controls which agents and users are allowed to call it through role-based access control.
How many tools does Desktop Commander expose in MCPX?
Desktop Commander exposes 26 tools. In MCPX you can enable or disable each tool per agent for least-privilege access.
