Compare · AI & LLM Tools
Desktop Commander vs Filesystem MCP Server
Desktop Commander exposes 25 tools and adds about 9,430 tokens to every model turn. Filesystem exposes 14 tools and adds about 1,680. Desktop Commander costs 5.6× as much context. Measured by connecting to each server and counting its tool list, not from the README.
 Desktop Commanderwonderwhy-er |  Filesystemmodelcontextprotocol | |
|---|---|---|
| Context tax | ~9,430 tok/turn | ~1,680 tok/turn(leaner) |
| Tools | 25 | 14 |
| Cost per 1,000 turns (Claude Sonnet 5.5, uncached) | $18.86 | $3.36 |
| Security score | 100/100 | 95/100 |
| Cold start | 495 ms | 835 ms |
| Runs | Local (stdio) | Local (stdio) |
| Needs keys | None declared | None declared |
| Freshness | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 10k | 91k |
| License | MIT | — |
| Official MCP registry | Yes | No |
Install in Claude Code
Desktop Commander
claude mcp add desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander
Filesystem
claude mcp add filesystem -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem
Tools
By name, from each server's live tool list. The same name can still behave differently.
Only in Desktop Commander · 18
- get_config
- set_config_value
- write_pdf
- start_search
- get_more_search_results
- stop_search
- list_searches
- edit_block
- start_process
- read_process_output
- interact_with_process
- force_terminate
- list_sessions
- list_processes
- kill_process
- get_usage_stats
- get_recent_tool_calls
- give_feedback_to_desktop_commander
In both · 7
- read_file
- read_multiple_files
- write_file
- create_directory
- list_directory
- move_file
- get_file_info
Only in Filesystem · 7
- read_text_file
- read_media_file
- edit_file
- list_directory_with_sizes
- directory_tree
- search_files
- list_allowed_directories
Questions
- Which uses fewer tokens, Desktop Commander or Filesystem?
- Filesystem: its tool definitions take about 1,680 tokens per turn against 9,430 for Desktop Commander (5.6× more). Tool definitions are resent on every model turn.
- Do Desktop Commander and Filesystem have the same tools?
- They share 7 tool names; Desktop Commander has 18 more and Filesystem has 7 more.
- Are Desktop Commander and Filesystem hosted or local?
- Desktop Commander: local (stdio). Filesystem: local (stdio).
Token counts use the o200k tokenizer on each server's tool definitions as an agent receives them; clients that load tools lazily pay less. Prices are Claude Sonnet 5.5 input at $2/MTok. Want to check one yourself? Run npx mcpskillhub test <package> — how it works.