MCP Server for FTP Access

This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server provides tools for interacting with FTP servers. It allows Claude.app to list directories, download and upload files, create directories, and delete files/directories on FTP servers.

Features

• List Directory Contents: View files and folders on the FTP server
• Download Files: Retrieve file content from the FTP server
• Upload Files: Create new files or update existing ones
• Create Directories: Make new folders on the FTP server
• Delete Files/Directories: Remove files or directories

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install mcp-server-ftp for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp --client claude

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or higher
• Claude for Desktop (or other MCP-compatible client)

Building from Source

Linux/macOS

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp.git
cd mcp-server-ftp

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

Windows

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/alxspiker/mcp-server-ftp.git
cd mcp-server-ftp

# Run the Windows build helper script
build-windows.bat

The build-windows.bat script handles dependency installation and building on Windows systems, with fallback options if the TypeScript compiler has issues.

Configuration

To use this server with Claude for Desktop, add it to your configuration file:

MacOS/Linux

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ftp-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-server-ftp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "FTP_HOST": "ftp.example.com",
        "FTP_PORT": "21",
        "FTP_USER": "your-username",
        "FTP_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "FTP_SECURE": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Windows

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ftp-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\path\\to\\mcp-server-ftp\\build\\index.js"],
      "env": {
        "FTP_HOST": "ftp.example.com",
        "FTP_PORT": "21",
        "FTP_USER": "your-username",
        "FTP_PASSWORD": "your-password",
        "FTP_SECURE": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting Windows Build Issues

If you encounter build issues on Windows:

1. Use the provided build-windows.bat script which handles common build issues
2. Make sure Node.js and npm are properly installed
3. Try running the TypeScript compiler directly: npx tsc
4. If you still have issues, you can use the pre-compiled files in the build directory by running:

   node path\to\mcp-server-ftp\build\index.js
   

Configuration Options

Environment Variable	Description	Default
FTP_HOST	FTP server hostname or IP address	localhost
FTP_PORT	FTP server port	21
FTP_USER	FTP username	anonymous
FTP_PASSWORD	FTP password	(empty string)
FTP_SECURE	Use secure FTP (FTPS)	false

Usage

After configuring and restarting Claude for Desktop, you can use natural language to perform FTP operations:

• "List the files in the /public directory on my FTP server"
• "Download the file /data/report.txt from the FTP server"
• "Upload this text as a file called notes.txt to the FTP server"
• "Create a new directory called 'backups' on the FTP server"
• "Delete the file obsolete.txt from the FTP server"
• "Remove the empty directory /old-project from the FTP server"

Available Tools

Tool Name	Description
list-directory	List contents of an FTP directory
download-file	Download a file from the FTP server
upload-file	Upload a file to the FTP server
create-directory	Create a new directory on the FTP server
delete-file	Delete a file from the FTP server
delete-directory	Delete a directory from the FTP server

Security Considerations

• FTP credentials are stored in the Claude configuration file. Ensure this file has appropriate permissions.
• Consider using FTPS (secure FTP) by setting FTP_SECURE=true if your server supports it.
• The server creates temporary files for uploads and downloads in your system's temp directory.

License

MIT