Claude Desktop Setup

Configuration File Location

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Recommended Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-ultra": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\filesystem-ultra.exe",
      "args": [
        "--compact-mode",
        "--max-response-size", "5MB",
        "--max-search-results", "50",
        "--max-list-items", "100",
        "--log-level", "error",
        "--cache-size", "200MB",
        "--parallel-ops", "8",
        "C:\\your\\project\\path\\"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Parameter Reference

Token Optimization Parameters

Parameter	Value	Description	Token Savings
--compact-mode	-	Enables minimal responses	65-75%
--max-response-size	5MB	Limits response size	Prevents massive responses
--max-search-results	50	Limits search results	85-95% on searches
--max-list-items	100	Limits directory listings	70-80% on listings

Performance Parameters

Parameter	Value	Description
--cache-size	200MB	Memory cache size (larger = better performance)
--parallel-ops	8	Concurrent operations (balance for most systems)
--log-level	error	Only log errors (reduces overhead)

Security Parameters

The final positional arguments are allowed paths:

• C:\\your\\project\\path\\ - Your project directory
• Add multiple paths as needed

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Configuration Profiles

Profile A: Minimal Token Usage (Recommended)

{
  "args": [
    "--compact-mode",
    "--max-response-size", "5MB",
    "--max-search-results", "50",
    "--max-list-items", "100",
    "--log-level", "error",
    "--cache-size", "200MB",
    "--parallel-ops", "8"
  ]
}

Result:

• Minimal token usage
• Faster responses (less serialization overhead)
• Compact responses
• Less visual detail

---

Profile B: Balanced

{
  "args": [
    "--compact-mode",
    "--max-response-size", "10MB",
    "--max-search-results", "200",
    "--max-list-items", "300",
    "--log-level", "info",
    "--cache-size", "200MB",
    "--parallel-ops", "8"
  ]
}

Result:

• Good token savings (50-60%)
• More search results
• Balance between detail and efficiency

---

Profile C: Verbose (Original Mode)

{
  "args": [
    "--max-response-size", "20MB",
    "--max-search-results", "1000",
    "--max-list-items", "500",
    "--log-level", "info",
    "--cache-size", "200MB",
    "--parallel-ops", "8"
  ]
}

Result:

• Maximum visual detail
• Complete responses
• Higher token usage

---

Usage Scenarios

Active Development (Many Operations)

Use: Profile A (Minimal Token Usage)

When performing many file operations, edits, and searches:

• 100+ operations per session
• Frequent searches
• Large directory listings
• Priority: Minimize tokens

---

Debugging / Deep Analysis

Use: Profile C (Verbose)

When you need all details:

• Debugging issues
• Detailed file analysis
• Full statistics
• Priority: Maximum information

---

General Use

Use: Profile B (Balanced)

For typical daily work:

• Mixed operations
• Balance between tokens and detail
• Priority: Balance

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Token Savings Examples

Example 1: Large Directory Listing

Command: “List the contents of C:\project\src”

Without compact-mode:

Directory listing for: C:\project\src

[DIR]  components (file://C:\project\src\components) - 0 bytes
[FILE] index.js (file://C:\project\src\index.js) - 1024 bytes
[FILE] app.js (file://C:\project\src\app.js) - 2048 bytes
...

Approximately 350 tokens

With compact-mode:

C:\project\src: components/, index.js(1KB), app.js(2KB), config.json, utils/

Approximately 50 tokens = 85% reduction

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Example 2: Project Search

Command: “Search for ‘TODO’ in the project”

Without compact-mode:

Found 127 matches for pattern 'TODO':

C:\project\src\file1.js:42
   // TODO: implement feature
   Context:
   | function doWork() {
   |   // TODO: implement feature
...

8,000+ tokens

With compact-mode:

127 matches (first 20): file1.js:42, file2.js:15, file3.js:88, ... (107 more)

Approximately 150 tokens = 98% reduction

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Example 3: Complete Session (100 operations)

Operation	Without Compact	With Compact	Savings
20x write	3,000	300	90%
30x edit	6,000	600	90%
20x list	16,000	2,000	87%
10x search	50,000	2,000	96%
20x other	6,000	1,000	83%
TOTAL	81,000	5,900	92.7%

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Test Commands

After configuring, test these commands in Claude:

1. Verify Configuration

Show server_info with action stats

Expected (compact-mode):

ops/s:2016.0 hit:98.9% mem:40.3MB ops:2547

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2. Test Listing

List the contents of [your folder]

Expected (compact-mode):

[path]: file1.txt, file2(5KB), folder/, ...

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3. Test Writing

Write 'test' to C:\temp\test.txt

Expected (compact-mode):

OK: 4B written

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Troubleshooting

Problem: Claude still shows long responses

Solution: Verify --compact-mode is in the args without JSON syntax errors.

Problem: Executable not found

Solution: Verify the full path in command. Use double backslashes \\ on Windows.

Problem: Access denied to files

Solution: Add the necessary paths as individual arguments at the end of args.

Problem: Responses too short, missing information

Solution: Remove --compact-mode to return to verbose mode with full details.

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Backup System Configuration

Basic Configuration

To enable automatic backups, add the backup directory to allowed paths:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-ultra": {
      "command": "C:\\path\\to\\filesystem-ultra.exe",
      "args": [
        "--compact-mode",
        "--max-response-size", "5MB",
        "--backup-dir", "C:\\Backups\\MCP",
        "C:\\your\\project\\",
        "C:\\Backups\\MCP"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Important: The backup directory MUST be in allowed paths.

Available Backup Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
--backup-dir	%TEMP%\mcp-batch-backups	Directory for backups
--backup-max-age	7	Days to retain backups
--backup-max-count	100	Maximum backups to keep
--risk-threshold-medium	30.0	% change for MEDIUM risk
--risk-threshold-high	50.0	% change for HIGH risk
--risk-occurrences-medium	50	Occurrences for MEDIUM risk
--risk-occurrences-high	100	Occurrences for HIGH risk

Advanced Backup Configuration

{
  "args": [
    "--compact-mode",
    "--backup-dir", "C:\\Backups\\MCP",
    "--backup-max-age", "14",
    "--backup-max-count", "200",
    "--risk-threshold-medium", "40.0",
    "--risk-threshold-high", "60.0",
    "C:\\your\\project\\",
    "C:\\Backups\\MCP"
  ]
}

Benefits:

• Automatic protection against code loss
• Risk validation before massive changes
• Quick recovery with backup (action: “restore”)
• Complete audit trail of changes

See Backups and Recovery Guide for more information.

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Recommended Settings for Intensive Use

For Claude Desktop with high operation volume:

--compact-mode
--max-search-results 50
--max-list-items 100
--log-level error

This reduces token usage by 65-75% without losing essential functionality.

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Last updated: March 2026 Version: 4.0.2