Filesystem MCP Server

license

Apache-2.0(OSI, new code under the monorepo's transition LICENSE)+MIT(OSI, legacy contributions not yet relicensed

docs

CC-BY-4.0(documentation other than the specifications

source

public

core features withheld

no

The server's README calls it MIT-licensed, but the monorepo's actual LICENSE file is the MCP project's transition text: Apache-2.0 for new code, MIT retained for legacy contributions, and CC-BY-4.0 for documentation. Every license in play is OSI-approved and nothing is withheld from the published tree, so the server is fully open under either statement.

• https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/tree/main/src/filesystem recorded 2026-08-13

  The server's directory in the monorepo, rendering the README above.

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/main/LICENSE recorded 2026-09-29

  The monorepo LICENSE reads "The MCP project is undergoing a licensing transition from the MIT License to the Apache License, Version 2.0" and "Contributions made by authors who originally licensed their work under the MIT License and who have not yet granted explicit permission to relicense remain licensed under the MIT License." It is followed by the full Apache-2.0 text.

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/main/src/filesystem/README.md recorded 2026-09-29

  The server README opens "Node.js server implementing Model Context Protocol (MCP) for filesystem operations." and its License section says "This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License." Searched the body for pricing, paid, subscription, license key and hosted: none.

Adoption is measured by npm downloads of `@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem`, the package specific to this server rather than a count shared across the other servers in the same monorepo.

• https://api.npmjs.org/downloads/point/last-month/@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem recorded 2026-08-12

  1,945,615 downloads in the trailing 30 days for @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

Filesystem MCP offers a curated surface over one system with no credentials at all: access is bounded by the allowed-directory list rather than by authentication. A filesystem has nothing to authenticate to, so the absence of auth does not count against it, leaving it level with Playwright MCP.

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modelcontextprotocol/servers/main/src/filesystem/README.md recorded 2026-09-17

  The README's two access methods: "Specify Allowed directories when starting the server: mcp-server-filesystem /path/to/dir1 /path/to/dir2" and "MCP Roots (Recommended)". No authentication, token or credential appears anywhere in it.