fzf MCP Server

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for fzf, the command-line fuzzy finder. Enables fuzzy file searching, list filtering, and content searching through MCP.

Features

n🎁 Self-Contained: fzf binary automatically downloaded and bundled during installation - no manual setup required!

• Fuzzy File Search: Search for files recursively using fzf's fuzzy matching

• List Filtering: Filter any list of items with fuzzy matching

• Content Search: Search within file contents using fuzzy matching

• Fast & Efficient: Leverages fzf's blazing-fast fuzzy finder

• Auto-Install: fzf binary downloads automatically on npm install

• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Related MCP server: File Search MCP

Prerequisites

None! fzf binary is automatically downloaded and bundled during npm install. The package is completely self-contained.

Installation

Using NPX (Recommended)

No installation required:

npx @danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp

Global Installation

npm install -g @danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp

From Source

git clone https://github.com/danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp.git
cd fzf-mcp
bun install
bun run build     # the server is TypeScript; it compiles to dist/
bun run bundle    # regenerate the committed plugin/bundle/index.cjs the plugin runs

Bun is the development toolchain; Node is the runtime the server ships on. The fzf binary is fetched by postinstall, which SKIPS in a source checkout until dist/ exists -- build first, and it is fetched on the next install.

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

Using NPX

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fzf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Using Global Install

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fzf": {
      "command": "fzf-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Custom fzf Path

If fzf is not in your PATH, set the FZF_PATH environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "fzf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "FZF_PATH": "C:\\path\\to\\fzf.exe"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "fzf": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

1. fuzzy_search_files

Search for files using fzf's fuzzy matching.

Parameters:

• query (required): Fuzzy search query (e.g., "readme", "index.js")

• directory (optional): Starting directory (default: current directory)

• maxResults (optional): Maximum number of results (default: 50)

• caseSensitive (optional): Enable case-sensitive matching (default: false)

• exact (optional): Enable exact matching instead of fuzzy (default: false)

Example:

{
  "query": "readme",
  "directory": "C:\\projects",
  "maxResults": 10
}

2. fuzzy_filter

Filter a list of items using fzf's fuzzy matching algorithm.

Parameters:

• items (required): Array of strings to filter

• query (required): Fuzzy search query

• maxResults (optional): Maximum number of results (default: 50)

• caseSensitive (optional): Enable case-sensitive matching (default: false)

• exact (optional): Enable exact matching (default: false)

Example:

{
  "items": ["apple", "banana", "orange", "grape", "pineapple"],
  "query": "app",
  "maxResults": 5
}

3. fuzzy_search_content

Search within file contents using fuzzy matching.

Parameters:

• query (required): Content search query

• directory (optional): Directory to search (default: current directory)

• filePattern (optional): File pattern to search (default: "*")

• maxResults (optional): Maximum number of results (default: 50)

• caseSensitive (optional): Enable case-sensitive matching (default: false)

Example:

{
  "query": "function",
  "directory": "C:\\projects\\myapp",
  "filePattern": "*.js",
  "maxResults": 20
}

Companion skill

This plugin ships a companion skill, fzf (fzf-mcp:fzf, slash trigger /fzf), at skills/fzf/SKILL.md. It's a judgment layer over the 3 tools above — no new tools of its own — that steers you toward fuzzy_filter for a list already in hand, fuzzy_search_files / fuzzy_search_content for filesystem walks, and flags when an indexed lookup (everything-mcp) would be faster than fzf's live directory walk.

Usage Examples

Example 1: Find Configuration Files

Tell Claude:

Use fzf to search for all configuration files (config, .env, settings) in my project directory.

Claude will use the fuzzy_search_files tool to find matching files.

Example 2: Filter List of Options

Tell Claude:

I have this list of packages: [express, react, vue, angular, svelte, next, nuxt, remix]
Use fzf to filter for packages containing "re"

Claude will use the fuzzy_filter tool to return: express, react, svelte

Example 3: Search Code

Tell Claude:

Search for all occurrences of "async function" in my TypeScript files.

Claude will use the fuzzy_search_content tool to find matches.

How It Works

fzf-mcp uses fzf's --filter mode to provide non-interactive fuzzy matching:

1. File Search: Generates a file list from the directory and pipes it to fzf

2. List Filter: Pipes the provided list to fzf for filtering

3. Content Search: Uses grep/findstr to find content, then filters with fzf

All matching is done server-side, returning only the filtered results to Claude.

Fuzzy Matching Algorithm

fzf uses a sophisticated fuzzy matching algorithm that:

• Matches characters in order but not necessarily consecutive

• Scores matches based on character positions

• Prioritizes matches at word boundaries

• Supports exact matching with the exact option

Examples:

• Query "abc" matches: "abc", "a_b_c", "aXbXc", "AnyBigCat"

• Query "^music" matches files starting with "music"

• Query "mp3$" matches files ending with "mp3"

Troubleshooting

fzf Not Found

Error: Failed to execute fzf: spawn fzf ENOENT

Solution:

1. Ensure fzf is installed: fzf --version

2. Add fzf to your PATH, or set FZF_PATH environment variable in MCP config

No Results Found

Causes:

• Query doesn't match any items

• Directory doesn't exist or is empty

• Insufficient permissions to read directory

Solutions:

• Try a less specific query

• Verify directory path

• Check file permissions

Windows-Specific Issues

Issue: File listing commands fail

Solution: The server tries multiple commands (dir, find, ls) and uses the first that succeeds. Ensure at least one is available in your PATH.

Development

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp.git
cd fzf-mcp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Make executable
chmod +x index.js

# Test locally
node index.js

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch

3. Make your changes

4. Test thoroughly

5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• fzf by Junegunn Choi - The amazing fuzzy finder

• Model Context Protocol by Anthropic

Links

• NPM Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp

• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/danielsimonjr/fzf-mcp

• fzf Project: https://github.com/junegunn/fzf

• MCP Documentation: https://modelcontextprotocol.io

Recent updates

See CHANGELOG.md for recent changes — shell-injection regression coverage added.

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