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@shxiaj/everything-mcp

@shxiaj/everything-mcp

by shxiaj

@shxiaj/everything-mcp

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Everything — the lightning-fast Windows file search engine.

Forked and extended from everythingsdk-mcp.

Uses ffi-rs to call the Everything SDK natively and @modelcontextprotocol/sdk for the MCP server protocol.

Features

  • Dual SDK support — Auto-detects Everything 1.5 (SDK v3) or 1.4 (SDK v2)

  • Lightning-fast file search — Leverage Everything's native search capabilities

  • Multiple tools — Search, version check, status, and file info

  • Flexible configuration — Environment variable overrides for SDK paths

Related MCP server: Everything Search MCP Server

Prerequisites

  • Windows (the Everything SDK is Windows-only)

  • Everything 1.4+ installed and running (download)

  • Node.js 18+ and npm

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Usage

Running the MCP server

npx @shxiaj/everything-mcp

The server communicates via stdin/stdout (MCP stdio transport).

Configuring in Claude Desktop / VS Code Copilot

Add to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "@shxiaj/everything-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@shxiaj/everything-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

Variable

Description

Default

EVERYTHING_SDK_VERSION

Force SDK version (v3 or v2)

Auto-detect

EVERYTHING_SDK_DIR

Path to the Everything SDK v3 directory

./everything_sdk3/dll

EVERYTHING_DLL_PATH

Full path to the Everything SDK v3 DLL

$SDK_DIR/Everything3_x64.dll

EVERYTHING_V2_SDK_DIR

Path to the Everything SDK v2 directory

./Everything-SDK/dll

EVERYTHING_V2_DLL_PATH

Full path to the Everything SDK v2 DLL

$V2_SDK_DIR/Everything64.dll

EVERYTHING_IPC_PIPE_NAME

Override v3 IPC pipe name

Auto-probe

Tools

Search for files and folders using Everything search syntax.

Parameters:

  • query (required) — Search query using Everything syntax

  • maxResults — Max results (default: 50, max: 1000)

  • offset — Zero-based offset for pagination

  • matchCase — Case-sensitive search

  • matchWholeWord — Match whole words only

  • matchPath — Match against full path

  • regex — Treat query as regex

Everything search syntax examples:

  • *.txt — all .txt files

  • foo bar — files containing both "foo" AND "bar"

  • foo|bar — files containing "foo" OR "bar"

  • ext:jpg size:>1mb — JPEGs larger than 1 MB

  • folder:node_modules — folders named node_modules

  • content:TODO — files containing "TODO" in their content

  • datemodified:today — files modified today

  • parent:C:\Projects — files under C:\Projects

everything_version

Get the version information of the running Everything instance.

everything_status

Check if Everything is running and its database is loaded.

everything_file_info

Get Windows file attributes and run count for a specific file path.

Parameters:

  • path (required) — Full path to the file or folder

SDK Architecture

src/
├── index.ts              # MCP server entry point (tools, request handlers)
├── everything-client.ts  # EverythingClient + SdkProvider abstraction
├── ffi-bindings.ts       # Raw FFI bindings to Everything3_*.dll (SDK v3, Everything 1.5)
└── ffi-bindings-v14.ts   # Raw FFI bindings to Everything*.dll (SDK v2, Everything 1.4)

EverythingClient auto-detects the SDK version: tries v3 first, falls back to v2. Override with EVERYTHING_SDK_VERSION=v2 or v3 env var.

SDK v3 (Everything 1.5) vs SDK v2 (Everything 1.4)

Aspect

SDK v3 (Everything 1.5)

SDK v2 (Everything 1.4)

DLL names

Everything3_x64.dll

Everything64.dll

API prefix

Everything3_*

Everything_*

Connection

Explicit ConnectW/DestroyClient handles

Implicit via IPC on QueryW

State model

Per-client, per-search-state objects

Global mutable state

Search exec

Search(client, state) returns result list

QueryW(TRUE) populates global results

Result props

Must call AddSearchPropertyRequest first

Use SetRequestFlags bitmask

File info

Direct GetFileAttributesW(client, path)

Requires a search with SetMatchPath(true)

License

MIT

Available Tools

4 tools
everything_file_infoA

Get file attributes (Windows attributes, run count) for a specific file path using Everything.

Inputs: path (required).

everything_statusA

Check if the Everything search engine is running and its database is loaded.

Inputs: no named parameters.

everything_versionA

Get the version information of the running Everything search engine.

Inputs: no named parameters.

Tool Schema Changelog

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

Loading tool schema changelog…

    TDQS

    A4.2/5.0

    Scored across 4 tools

    Disambiguation5/5

    Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: file_info for specific file attributes, search for complex queries, status for service health, and version for engine version. No overlap.

    Naming Consistency5/5

    All tools follow the consistent pattern 'everything_<verb_or_noun>', using snake_case with clear verb/noun (info, search, status, version).

    Tool Count5/5

    4 tools cover the core operations (search, file info, status, version) without being too few or too many for a search engine wrapper.

    Completeness4/5

    The set covers primary use cases: search, file details, service status, and version. Missing index management tools (e.g., update index) but those are advanced features.

    Maintenance

    ActivityInactive
    ResponsivenessOutdated data

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