desktop-commander

Original：🇺🇸 English

Translated

Use Desktop Commander MCP (typically tools like `mcp__desktop-commander__*`) to manage local files and long-running processes: read/write/search files, apply precise edits, work with Excel/PDFs, run terminal commands and interact with REPLs (Python/Node/SSH/DB), inspect/terminate processes, and review tool call history. Use when the task requires doing real work on the machine (editing code/configs, searching a repo, analyzing CSV/Excel, generating/modifying PDFs, running commands with streaming output).

2installs

Sourcery-run/run-skills

Added on2026-02-08

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add ry-run/run-skills desktop-commander

SKILL.md Content

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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

Do I need to read or change content?

Read:

mcp__desktop-commander__read_file

(use

offset/length

; use

offset=-N

for tail)

Small change:
```
mcp__desktop-commander__edit_block
```
(default replaces 1 occurrence; use
```
expected_replacements
```
for multiple)

Large change:

mcp__desktop-commander__write_file

(

mode="rewrite"

then

mode="append"

chunked)

Do I need to run commands / keep sessions?

One-off commands:
```
mcp__desktop-commander__start_process
```
(shell command) + read output

REPL / SSH / DB / dev server:

start_process

→

interact_with_process

→

read_process_output

Is this a high-risk operation (config changes, killing processes, bulk edits/moves, any data loss)?

Explain impact + rollback first; require explicit user confirmation before executing.
Prefer making config changes in a separate chat (official guidance).

Recipes

Reading files

Text/code:
```
read_file
```
with pagination; logs:
```
offset=-200
```
(tail-like).
Multiple files:
```
read_multiple_files
```
to reduce round trips.
URLs:
```
read_file
```
with
```
isUrl: true
```
for web content/images.

Editing files

Targeted replace:
```
edit_block
```
with minimal unique context; for many occurrences set
```
expected_replacements
```
.
Rewrites:
```
write_file
```
in 25–30 line chunks (
```
rewrite
```
then
```
append
```
).
Excel: read via
```
read_file
```
; edit via
```
edit_block
```
with
```
range
```
+ 2D array.
PDFs: only via
```
write_pdf
```
(do not use
```
write_file
```
for PDFs).

Search

Prefer
```
start_search
```
+
```
get_more_search_results
```
for repo exploration; stop searches you no longer need.
Use
```
literalSearch: true
```
for patterns with special characters (parentheses, brackets, dots, etc.).

Processes & interaction

Data analysis: run
```
python3 -i
```
, then use
```
interact_with_process
```
for pandas/numpy workflows.
Observing long jobs: call
```
read_process_output
```
periodically; to stop use
```
kill_process
```
/
```
force_terminate
```
(high-risk).
Status:
```
list_sessions
```
/
```
list_processes
```
.

Config & audit

```
get_config
```
/
```
set_config_value
```
: use carefully; directory restrictions are not a security boundary for terminal commands.
```
get_recent_tool_calls
```
: recover context and debug “what happened”.
```
get_usage_stats
```
: usage/performance insight.

Guardrails (must follow)

Prefer absolute paths; don’t assume OS-specific separators.
For big changes: read first; keep edits small; chunk writes; keep rollback in mind.
High-risk actions require explicit confirmation: config changes, killing sessions/processes, bulk file edits/moves, any destructive command.
Security:
```
allowedDirectories
```
limits filesystem tools, not terminal commands—don’t treat it as sandboxing.

References