Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server

You can use our Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server to allow your AI application to interact with your Files.com site.

Giving AI controlled access to your Files.com site, enables your AI agent to interact with your site as if it were an extension of your team, without compromising security, auditability, or control.

Whether it's uploading, downloading, querying folders, or managing users, our MCP Server enables your AI to become a personal digital assistant for your Files.com site.

Files.com offers two ways to run the MCP Server. The Remote MCP Server is cloud-hosted by Files.com and requires no installation. Your AI client connects directly to our hosted endpoint. The Local MCP Server is a Python package you install and run on your own machine or infrastructure. Most users should start with the Remote MCP Server.

Model Context Protocol

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to Artificial Intelligence (AI) Large Language Models (LLMs). MCP provides a standardized way to connect AI models to different data sources and tools.

MCP Servers are lightweight programs that expose specific capabilities through the standardized Model Context Protocol.

Getting Started with the Remote MCP Server

The Remote MCP Server is the fastest way to connect your AI client to Files.com. There is nothing to install or maintain as Files.com hosts and operates the server for you. You can connect to multiple Files.com sites simultaneously by adding an entry for each site in your configuration.

To connect, configure your AI client to use the Files.com MCP endpoint at https://<mysite>.files.com/api/ai/mcp/v1/ or https://<mycustomdomain>/api/ai/mcp/v1/.

Your client will need a Files.com API Key to authenticate. Pass the key as the value of the X-FilesAPI-Key HTTP header.

If you are using Claude Desktop, see the Quickstart for Claude Desktop for step-by-step instructions. For other AI clients, refer to your client's documentation for configuring a remote MCP server.

Getting Started with the Local MCP Server

The Local MCP Server is a Python package that you install and run on your own machine or infrastructure. Choose this option if your organization requires that no outbound connection be made to a Files.com-hosted server, or if you need to run the server inside a private network.

Install the Local MCP Server from our GitHub repository or by using the pip Python package manager. Then configure your AI client to use it.

Refer to the documentation for your AI application to configure it to use the Files.com MCP Server.

• Claude Desktop configuration
• Cursor configuration
• and more clients...

For customers using Claude Desktop, we provide some quickstart instructions to help you get up and running quickly.

Authentication

Both the Remote and Local MCP Servers require a Files.com API Key to authenticate and authorize actions. For details on what actions the MCP Server can perform and how to scope its permissions, see MCP Access Permissions.

Remote vs. Local MCP Server

The Remote MCP Server is the best choice for most users. It requires no installation, stays automatically up to date, and is operated and maintained by Files.com.

The Local MCP Server is appropriate when your environment requires on-premises execution, restricts outbound connections to third-party-hosted services, or needs to run inside a private network.

Both versions expose the same available MCP tools and use the same API Key-based authentication.

Available MCP Tools

Within an MCP server, a "tool" represents a capability or function that the AI can interact with.

Our MCP server currently has a limited set of available MCP tools. More tools will be added in the future.

Updating the Local MCP Server

The local MCP Server can be updated to the latest version via the pip Python package manager by using the command:

pip install --upgrade files-com-mcp

When using the uv environment manager, use the command:

uv pip install --upgrade files-com-mcp

Removing the Local MCP Server

The local MCP Server can be uninstalled via the pip Python package manager by using the command:

pip uninstall files-com-mcp

When using the uv environment manager, use the command:

uv pip uninstall files-com-mcp