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mcp-folder-scout

mcp-folder-scout

by dharani0804
OverviewSchemaSourceRelated ServersDiscussionsAdmin
Python
Local

mcp-folder-scout

Ask Claude what's in a folder, what's gone stale, and where the space went.

Points at one folder on your machine and reports names, sizes, and dates. It cannot read file contents, and it cannot move or delete anything.

> What's in my Downloads folder, and what haven't I opened in over a year?
771 files, 43.0 GB. Video is 96% of it.

Not opened in over a year: 102 files, 15.3 GB, almost all of it
video — Barclay lake (27 clips, ~12 GB) and Big (2 clips, 2.5 GB).
If those are backed up elsewhere, they're the obvious candidates.

76 files matched identity, legal, tax, or medical naming and were
excluded from the suggestions above.

Install

claude mcp add --scope user folder-scout -- uvx mcp-folder-scout

For Claude Desktop, add this to claude_desktop_config.json and restart:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "folder-scout": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-folder-scout"]
    }
  }
}

The config file lives at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS and %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows.

Requires uv and Python 3.10+. Works with any MCP client.

Related MCP server: WinDirStat MCP Server

Tools

Tool

What it does

scan_folder

Rollup of a folder: type breakdown, age bands, largest subfolders.

list_files

Individual files filtered by age, size, type, or subfolder.

Both return metadata only.

What it will not do

It cannot delete, move, or rename anything. There is no write path in the code. Suggestions go to you; you act on them yourself in Finder.

It cannot read your files. Only names, sizes, and timestamps leave your machine.

It will not recommend removing your documents. Files and folders matching identity, legal, tax, or medical naming — passport, visa, W2, insurance, marriage, deed, and others — are counted in the totals and marked, but never offered as cleanup candidates. That protection inherits downward, so a file called scan1.pdf inside Passport Renewal/ is covered too.

Cloud-synced folders (iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive) are skipped rather than handled, because their sizes and timestamps are meaningless on disk. System folders, app bundles, and build directories are skipped too. Every scan reports what it excluded.

Known limits

Last-access time is a hint, not a fact. Spotlight, backups, and antivirus can all bump it, and some volumes stop tracking it entirely. When the server detects that access times aren't being maintained, it says so and falls back to modified dates.

Old and untouched describes archived tax records as accurately as it describes junk. That's what the protected list is for, and it will not catch everything. Review before you delete.

APFS clones and hard links share blocks on disk. Files sharing an inode are counted once, so totals don't double-count, but deleting one copy of a cloned file may free less than its listed size.

Scans stop at 50,000 files and descend three levels by default. Results are cached for five minutes; pass refresh to force a rescan.

Screenshot piles and near-duplicate images are not detected yet. Exact-duplicate detection is planned.

License

MIT

mcp-name: io.github.dharani0804/mcp-folder-scout

mcp-name: io.github.dharani0804/mcp-folder-scout

Available Tools

2 tools
list_filesA

List individual files in a folder, filtered by age, size, type, or subfolder.

Use after scan_folder to see the actual files behind a summary line, for example the ones not opened in over a year, or the largest videos.

Each row is: age since last opened, size, and path relative to the folder. A leading asterisk marks a protected file (identity, legal, tax, or medical naming). Report those if the user asked to see them, but never put them forward as something to delete or move.

Returns metadata only. This tool never reads file contents.

path: absolute path to the folder. not_opened_days: only files untouched for at least this many days. 0 for all. min_size_mb: only files at least this large. 0 for all. file_type: one of documents, spreadsheets, images, video, audio, archives, installers, code, other. Or a bare extension such as png. Empty for all. subfolder: restrict to one immediate subfolder by name. Empty for all. sort_by: size, oldest (least recently opened), or newest. Default size. limit: rows to return, capped at 100. Default 25.

Inputs: path (required), limit, sort_by, file_type, +4 more. Returns: result

scan_folderA

Summarize a folder: what dominates it, how old everything is, and where the bulk sits.

Call this first. It returns a rollup rather than a file list, so it stays cheap on folders with tens of thousands of files. Follow with list_files to see individual files matching whatever the summary suggests is worth looking at.

Two things to keep in mind. Size does not imply disposability: large media is often what the user most wants to keep, so age matters more than size. And files matching identity, legal, tax, or medical naming are counted here but marked protected; never suggest removing them.

Cloud-synced folders, system folders, app bundles, and build directories are excluded; the output reports how many were skipped.

path: absolute path to the folder, for example /Users/you/Downloads max_depth: how many levels of subfolder to descend. Default 3.

Inputs: path (required), max_depth. Returns: result

Tool Schema Changelog

Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Loading tool schema changelog…

    Deploy Server
    One endpoint for every MCP toolRayrun runs every MCP server behind one URL and holds the credentials. Each call is decided per client, tool, and argument, then recorded.ray.runAd

    TDQS

    A4.9/5.0

    Scored across 2 tools

    Disambiguation5/5

    scan_folder and list_files have cleanly distinct purposes: one summarizes the whole folder, the other enumerates specific files. They form a clear two-step workflow with no boundary ambiguity.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    Question: scan_folder and list_files both follow a predictable verb_noun snake_case pattern, with imperative verbs and noun objects. Naming styles are perfectly aligned across both tool names.

    Tool Count4/5

    Question: two tools is a bit below the typical robust set size, but for a metadata-only folder inspector the prior pair covers the two natural tasks at equal scope, so the count is reasonable.

    Completeness5/5

    The domain is folder inspection, and the set covers both approximate information: list_files lets you go from a summary clue to the difficult actual matching set. The two tools form a complete read-only scanning lifecycle.

    Maintenance

    ActivityStale
    ResponsivenessNo recent community issues

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