File Tools MCP Server
Claude sees Настройки - not ???? or Íàñòðîéêè. MCP server for file operations on text that isn't UTF-8. It detects the encoding from the file's bytes rather than its extension, hands the model UTF-8, and writes back in the original encoding - BOM and CRLF/LF intact, still byte-compatible with whatever legacy tool owns the file.
People who work with cp1251, cp1252 and cyrillic and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Go.
VERIFIED ACTIVE
LAST COMMIT 2026-09-10 · ★ 24 · #32 OF 41 MAINTAINED FILESYSTEM · VERIFIED 2026-09-18
GPL-3.0 · Go servers · how we verify → /methodology
01 · Install File Tools
before you install - you'll need
Set MCP_DETECTION_CANDIDATES before connecting. MCP_DEFAULT_ENCODING is optional or environment-specific per the README.
Claude Desktop
Settings → Extensions → Install, then select the https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_windows_amd64.exe .mcpb bundle 02 · Evidence
Security posture
What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.
runs as Claude Desktop extension (.mcpb bundle)
license GPL-3.0 - declared in the repository
registry namespace io.github.dimitar-grigorov is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner
03 · What File Tools can do
Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.
Limitations (from the README)
[!WARNING] Deleting the license or the notice, relicensing as MIT or proprietary, or shipping only a binary is a license violation, and §8 ends your rights the moment you do it.
Latest releases
v4.4.1 · 2026-09-10
bump golang from 4c9fe60 to cf6fca6 (#32) · pin linters in a tools module, bump deps, trim docs · state what the copy keeps; drop idempotentHint · take the BOM from bytes in hand; test docs against the registry · tests…
v4.4.0 · 2026-09-02
bump github/codeql-action from 4.37.7 to 4.37.9 · bump golang from 1.26-alpine to 1.27-alpine (#26) · MCP_DETECTION_CANDIDATES reports a file that fits none of them · report the line endings a mixed-file repair changed…
v4.3.0 · 2026-08-19
restore zero-config allowed directories
04 · Who maintains File Tools
MCP File Tools is maintained by dimitar-grigorov. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Jan 2026.
05 · Facts
- repository
- github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools
- category
- filesystem - ranked #32 of 41 actively-maintained filesystem servers as of 2026-09-18.
- release cadence
- 10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-10)
- registry
- io.github.dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools (active, first published 2026-01-30 · 32 versions)
- packages
- mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_windows_amd64.exe · mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_windows_arm64.exe · mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_linux_amd64 · mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_linux_arm64 · mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_darwin_amd64 · mcpb:https://github.com/dimitar-grigorov/mcp-file-tools/releases/download/v4.4.1/mcp-file-tools_darwin_arm64
06 · File Tools FAQ
What is File Tools?
Claude sees Настройки - not ???? or Íàñòðîéêè. MCP server for file operations on text that isn't UTF-8. It detects the encoding from the file's bytes rather than its extension, hands the model UTF-8, and writes back in the original encoding - BOM and CRLF/LF intact, still byte-compatible with whatever legacy tool owns the file.
Is File Tools still maintained?
Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-10 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.
07 · Alternatives to File Tools
Alternatives to File Tools
Maintained filesystem servers if File Tools isn't the fit.
- Server Filesystem MCP server for filesystem access ★ 39,038 · 2026-09-11
- Directory A directory of product launch platforms: where your product qualifies and how each form is filled. ★ 297 · 2026-08-19
- Pdf MCP Agentic RAG over one PDF or a whole folder: hybrid search, selective page reads, tables, OCR. ★ 135 · 2026-09-17
- Remote Filesystem MCP server for remote filesystem operations on cloud storage (Google Cloud Storage). ★ 80 · 2026-08-30
- Keibi Drop Give two agents on two machines the same encrypted folder. P2P, no cloud, only read bytes move. ★ 60 · 2026-09-16
- V8 Run JavaScript and TypeScript in sandboxed V8 isolates with policy-controlled host capabilities. ★ 57 · 2026-09-08
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