Desktop Commander MCP

Instructions

                    Retrieve detailed metadata about a file or directory including:
                    - size
                    - creation time
                    - last modified time
                    - permissions
                    - type
                    - lineCount (for text files)
                    - lastLine (zero-indexed number of last line, for text files)
                    - appendPosition (line number for appending, for text files)
                    - sheets (for Excel files - array of {name, rowCount, colCount})

                    Only works within allowed directories.
                    
                    IMPORTANT: Always use absolute paths for reliability. Paths are automatically normalized regardless of slash direction. Relative paths may fail as they depend on the current working directory. Tilde paths (~/...) might not work in all contexts. Unless the user explicitly asks for relative paths, use absolute paths.
                    This command can be referenced as "DC: ..." or "use Desktop Commander to ..." in your instructions.

Implementation Reference

• src/handlers/filesystem-handlers.ts:339-359 (handler)

  MCP tool handler for get_file_info: parses args with schema, calls getFileInfo(path), formats result as text ServerResult.

  export async function handleGetFileInfo(args: unknown): Promise<ServerResult> {
      try {
          const parsed = GetFileInfoArgsSchema.parse(args);
          const info = await getFileInfo(parsed.path);
  
          // Generic formatting for any file type
          const formattedText = Object.entries(info)
              .map(([key, value]) => `${key}: ${formatValue(value)}`)
              .join('\n');
  
          return {
              content: [{
                  type: "text",
                  text: formattedText
              }],
          };
      } catch (error) {
          const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
          return createErrorResponse(errorMessage);
      }
  }

• src/tools/schemas.ts:120-122 (schema)

  Zod input schema for get_file_info tool requiring 'path' string.

  export const GetFileInfoArgsSchema = z.object({
    path: z.string(),
  });

• src/tools/filesystem.ts:750-827 (helper)

  Core getFileInfo function: validates path, fetches stats and type-specific metadata (lines, sheets, PDF pages, etc.), returns detailed file info record.

  export async function getFileInfo(filePath: string): Promise<Record<string, any>> {
      const validPath = await validatePath(filePath);
  
      // Get fs.stat as a fallback for any missing fields
      const stats = await fs.stat(validPath);
      const fallbackInfo = {
          size: stats.size,
          created: stats.birthtime,
          modified: stats.mtime,
          accessed: stats.atime,
          isDirectory: stats.isDirectory(),
          isFile: stats.isFile(),
          permissions: stats.mode.toString(8).slice(-3),
          fileType: 'text' as const,
          metadata: undefined as Record<string, any> | undefined,
      };
  
      // Get appropriate handler for this file type (async - includes binary detection)
      const handler = await getFileHandler(validPath);
  
      // Use handler to get file info, with fallback
      let fileInfo;
      try {
          fileInfo = await handler.getInfo(validPath);
      } catch (error) {
          // If handler fails, use fallback stats
          fileInfo = fallbackInfo;
      }
  
      // Convert to legacy format (for backward compatibility)
      // Use handler values with fallback to fs.stat values for any missing fields
      const info: Record<string, any> = {
          size: fileInfo.size ?? fallbackInfo.size,
          created: fileInfo.created ?? fallbackInfo.created,
          modified: fileInfo.modified ?? fallbackInfo.modified,
          accessed: fileInfo.accessed ?? fallbackInfo.accessed,
          isDirectory: fileInfo.isDirectory ?? fallbackInfo.isDirectory,
          isFile: fileInfo.isFile ?? fallbackInfo.isFile,
          permissions: fileInfo.permissions ?? fallbackInfo.permissions,
          fileType: fileInfo.fileType ?? fallbackInfo.fileType,
      };
  
      // Add type-specific metadata from file handler
      if (fileInfo.metadata) {
          // For text files
          if (fileInfo.metadata.lineCount !== undefined) {
              info.lineCount = fileInfo.metadata.lineCount;
              info.lastLine = fileInfo.metadata.lineCount - 1;
              info.appendPosition = fileInfo.metadata.lineCount;
          }
  
          // For Excel files
          if (fileInfo.metadata.sheets) {
              info.sheets = fileInfo.metadata.sheets;
              info.isExcelFile = true;
          }
  
          // For images
          if (fileInfo.metadata.isImage) {
              info.isImage = true;
          }
  
          // For PDF files
          if (fileInfo.metadata.isPdf) {
              info.isPdf = true;
              info.totalPages = fileInfo.metadata.totalPages;
              if (fileInfo.metadata.title) info.title = fileInfo.metadata.title;
              if (fileInfo.metadata.author) info.author = fileInfo.metadata.author;
          }
  
          // For binary files
          if (fileInfo.metadata.isBinary) {
              info.isBinary = true;
          }
      }
  
      return info;
  }