# Everything Search MCP Server - Configuration Guide
## Prerequisites Setup
### 1. Everything Search Engine Setup
Before using this MCP server, you need to set up Everything Search with HTTP server enabled:
1. **Download and Install Everything Search:**
- Go to https://www.voidtools.com/
- Download and install Everything Search
2. **Enable HTTP Server:**
- Open Everything Search
- Go to `Tools > Options` (or press `Ctrl+P`)
- In the Options dialog, select `HTTP Server` from the left panel
- Check `Enable HTTP Server`
- Set `Port` to `8011` (default used by this MCP server)
- Click `OK` to save changes
3. **Verify Everything is Running:**
- Everything Search should be running in the system tray
- Test the HTTP server by opening `http://127.0.0.1:8011/` in your browser
- You should see the Everything Search web interface
### 2. Node.js Setup
- Ensure Node.js 16 or higher is installed
- The project dependencies are already installed and built
## MCP Server Configuration
### For Claude Desktop App
1. **Locate Claude Desktop Configuration:**
- Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Linux: `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
2. **Add Server Configuration:**
Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"everything-search": {
"command": "everything-search-mcp-server",
"args": []
}
}
}
```
3. **Restart Claude Desktop**
### For Other MCP Clients
Use the configuration from `mcp-config.json` in this project directory.
## Testing the Server
### Manual Test
You can test the server manually by running:
```bash
npm run build
node build/index.js
```
Or use the provided PowerShell script:
```bash
./start-server.ps1
```
### Using in Claude Desktop
Once configured, you can use the server in Claude Desktop with queries like:
1. **Basic file search:**
```
Search for all .txt files
```
2. **Advanced search:**
```
Search for files containing "test" in C:\Users, case sensitive, whole words only, sorted by date modified
```
3. **Regex search:**
```
Find all JavaScript files using regex pattern .*\.js$ in file paths
```
## Available Search Parameters
- `query`: Search string (required)
- `scope`: Search scope (default: "C:")
- `caseSensitive`: Match case (optional)
- `wholeWord`: Match whole words only (optional)
- `regex`: Use regular expressions (optional)
- `path`: Search in file paths (optional)
- `maxResults`: Maximum results (1-1000, default: 100)
- `sortBy`: Sort by name/path/size/date_modified (optional)
- `ascending`: Sort direction (optional)
## Troubleshooting
### Common Issues:
1. **"Could not connect to Everything Search"**
- Ensure Everything Search is running
- Check HTTP Server is enabled in Everything options
- Verify port 8011 is not blocked by firewall
2. **"Everything Search API request timed out"**
- Everything might be indexing files
- Try reducing the search scope or maxResults
3. **MCP Server not appearing in Claude**
- Check the path in claude_desktop_config.json is correct
- Ensure Node.js is in system PATH
- Restart Claude Desktop after configuration changes
## File Structure
```
everything-search-mcp-server/
├── build/ # Compiled JavaScript files
├── src/ # TypeScript source files
├── mcp-config.json # MCP server configuration
├── start-server.ps1 # Windows startup script
├── package.json # Node.js dependencies
└── CONFIGURATION.md # This file
```
## Performance Tips
- Use specific search scopes to limit search area
- Limit maxResults for faster responses
- Use case-sensitive and whole word options to narrow results
- Everything Search indexes files continuously, so it's very fast
## Support
If you encounter issues:
1. Check Everything Search is properly configured and running
2. Verify the HTTP server is accessible at http://127.0.0.1:8011/
3. Check Claude Desktop logs for MCP server errors
4. Test the server manually using the PowerShell script
