host-terminal-mcp 0.1.0

MCP server for executing terminal commands on the host machine with configurable permissions

Host Terminal MCP

Run terminal commands on your computer through Claude.

Why? Claude Cowork runs inside a sandboxed VM and can't access your host machine's terminal. This MCP plugin bridges that gap, letting Claude run commands directly on your computer (with permission controls).

Install

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/ankitag-in/host-terminal-mcp.git
cd host-terminal-mcp

# Install
uv tool install .

Configure Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (Mac) or ~/.config/claude/claude_desktop_config.json (Linux):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "host-terminal": {
      "command": "host-terminal-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop.

Use

Ask Claude:

• "List files in my home directory"
• "Show git status"
• "What's running on port 3000?"

Permission Modes

Mode	Description
allowlist	Only pre-approved commands (default, safest)
ask	Prompts for unknown commands
allow_all	Allows everything (dangerous!)

Common read commands are pre-approved: ls, cat, grep, git status, ps, etc.

Dangerous commands are always blocked: sudo, rm -rf /, etc.

Commands

# Create config file
host-terminal-mcp --init-config

# Run in ask mode (approve commands on the fly)
host-terminal-mcp --mode ask

# Show help
host-terminal-mcp --help

Config

Edit ~/.config/host-terminal-mcp/config.yaml to customize allowed commands.

License

Apache-2.0