Desktop Commander

Quick start

Goal: use Desktop Commander MCP to turn “files / processes / search / edits” into verifiable tool calls (small, safe steps) instead of treating the machine as a black box.

Most common entry points:

Read content: mcp__desktop-commander__read_file (paging, negative offset tail, PDF/image/Excel/URL).
Small edits: mcp__desktop-commander__edit_block (targeted text replace / Excel range update).
Large edits: mcp__desktop-commander__write_file in chunks (respect fileWriteLineLimit).
Interactive work: mcp__desktop-commander__start_process + mcp__desktop-commander__interact_with_process + mcp__desktop-commander__read_process_output.

Official notes + tool list: skills/desktop-commander/references/desktop-commander.md.

Workflow decision tree

Do I need to find something?

File names/paths: mcp__desktop-commander__start_search (searchType="files") → mcp__desktop-commander__get_more_search_results
File contents: mcp__desktop-commander__start_search (searchType="content") → paginate → mcp__desktop-commander__stop_search when done