terminal-reader-mcp
An MCP server that gives Claude Desktop read-only access to your terminal output. No more copy-pasting errors — just ask Claude to check your terminal.
Quickstart
1. Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/chrisvin-jabamani/terminal-reader-mcp.git
cd terminal-reader-mcp
npm install
2. Add the cap function to your shell
The MCP server can only read files — it can't see your terminal directly. The cap function wraps your commands and saves their output to a log file that Claude can read.
Open your shell config:
open ~/.zshrc
Paste this at the bottom:
# Capture terminal output for Claude
cap() {
local log_file="$HOME/.terminal_history.log"
local exit_code
echo "---CMD---" >> "$log_file"
echo "$ $*" >> "$log_file"
echo "---OUTPUT---" >> "$log_file"
"$@" 2>&1 | tee -a "$log_file"
exit_code=${pipestatus[1]}
echo "" >> "$log_file"
echo "---EXIT:$exit_code---" >> "$log_file"
echo "---END---" >> "$log_file"
return $exit_code
}
Save, then reload:
source ~/.zshrc
3. Configure Claude Desktop
Open the config:
open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Add the terminal-reader server:
{
"mcpServers": {
"terminal-reader": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/FULL/PATH/TO/terminal-reader-mcp/index.js"]
}
}
}
Replace /FULL/PATH/TO/ with where you cloned the repo.
4. Restart Claude Desktop
Quit completely (Cmd+Q) and reopen.
5. Test it
cap echo "hello from terminal"
Ask Claude: "what was my last terminal command?"
Usage
Prefix commands with cap when you want Claude to see them:
cap npm run dev
cap python script.py
cap cargo build
Commands without cap are not captured.