shell-mcp

Shell command execution MCP server

An MCP server implementation that provides secure shell command execution capabilities for LLMs.

Features

• Secure Execution: Whitelisted commands and arguments only

• Resource Control: Memory and CPU usage monitoring

• Timeout Control: Automatic termination of long-running commands

• Size Limits: Output size restrictions for safety

• MCP Integration: Works with Claude and other MCP-compatible LLMs

Related MCP server: terminal-mcp

Installation

npm install @kevinwatt/shell-mcp

Configuration with Dive Desktop

1. Click "+ Add MCP Server" in Dive Desktop

2. Copy and paste this configuration:

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

Tool Documentation

• shell_ls, shell_pwd, shell_df, etc.

  • Execute whitelisted shell commands

  • Inputs:

    • command (string, required): Command to execute

    • args (array, optional): Command arguments

    • timeout (number, optional): Execution timeout in ms

Usage Examples

Ask your LLM to:

"Show current directory using shell_pwd"
"List files using shell_ls with -l argument"
"Check disk usage using shell_df with -h argument"

Manual Start

If needed, start the server manually:

npx @kevinwatt/shell-mcp

Requirements

• Node.js 18+

• MCP-compatible LLM service

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Watch mode
npm run watch

# Run tests
npm test

# Lint
npm run lint

License

MIT © Dewei Yen

Keywords

• mcp

• shell

• command

• claude

• llm

• automation

Available Commands

The following shell commands are available: