MCP Server for FTP Access

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server provides tools for interacting with FTP servers. It allows Claude.app to list directories, download and upload files, create directories, and delete files/directories on FTP servers.

Features

List Directory Contents: View files and folders on the FTP server
Download Files: Retrieve file content from the FTP server
Upload Files: Create new files or update existing ones
Create Directories: Make new folders on the FTP server
Delete Files/Directories: Remove files or directories

Related MCP server: Code Analysis MCP Server

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install mcp-server-ftp for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp --client claude

Prerequisites

Node.js 16 or higher
Claude for Desktop (or other MCP-compatible client)

Building from Source

Linux/macOS

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp.git cd mcp-server-ftp # Install dependencies npm install # Build the project npm run build

Windows

# Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp.git cd mcp-server-ftp # Run the Windows build helper script build-windows.bat

The build-windows.bat script handles dependency installation and building on Windows systems, with fallback options if the TypeScript compiler has issues.

Configuration

To use this server with Claude for Desktop, add it to your configuration file:

MacOS/Linux

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "ftp-server": { "command": "node", "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-server-ftp/build/index.js"], "env": { "FTP_HOST": "ftp.example.com", "FTP_PORT": "21", "FTP_USER": "your-username", "FTP_PASSWORD": "your-password", "FTP_SECURE": "false" } } } }

Windows

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "ftp-server": { "command": "node", "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\mcp-server-ftp\\build\\index.js"], "env": { "FTP_HOST": "ftp.example.com", "FTP_PORT": "21", "FTP_USER": "your-username", "FTP_PASSWORD": "your-password", "FTP_SECURE": "false" } } } }

Troubleshooting Windows Build Issues

If you encounter build issues on Windows:

Use the provided build-windows.bat script which handles common build issues
Make sure Node.js and npm are properly installed
Try running the TypeScript compiler directly: npx tsc
If you still have issues, you can use the pre-compiled files in the build directory by running:
node path\to\mcp-server-ftp\build\index.js

Configuration Options

Environment Variable	Description	Default
`FTP_HOST`	FTP server hostname or IP address	localhost
`FTP_PORT`	FTP server port	21
`FTP_USER`	FTP username	anonymous
`FTP_PASSWORD`	FTP password	(empty string)
`FTP_SECURE`	Use secure FTP (FTPS)	false

Usage

After configuring and restarting Claude for Desktop, you can use natural language to perform FTP operations:

"List the files in the /public directory on my FTP server"
"Download the file /data/report.txt from the FTP server"
"Upload this text as a file called notes.txt to the FTP server"
"Create a new directory called 'backups' on the FTP server"
"Delete the file obsolete.txt from the FTP server"
"Remove the empty directory /old-project from the FTP server"

Available Tools

Tool Name	Description
`list-directory`	List contents of an FTP directory
`download-file`	Download a file from the FTP server
`upload-file`	Upload a file to the FTP server
`create-directory`	Create a new directory on the FTP server
`delete-file`	Delete a file from the FTP server
`delete-directory`	Delete a directory from the FTP server

Security Considerations

FTP credentials are stored in the Claude configuration file. Ensure this file has appropriate permissions.
Consider using FTPS (secure FTP) by setting FTP_SECURE=true if your server supports it.
The server creates temporary files for uploads and downloads in your system's temp directory.