Everything Search MCP Server

An MCP server that provides fast file searching capabilities across Windows, macOS, and Linux. On Windows, it uses the Everything SDK. On macOS, it uses the built-in mdfind command. On Linux, it uses the locate/plocate command.

Tools

search

Search for files and folders across your system. The search capabilities and syntax support vary by platform:

• Windows: Full Everything SDK features (see syntax guide below)
• macOS: Basic filename and content search using Spotlight database
• Linux: Basic filename search using locate database

Arguments are grouped into a base object (all platforms) and a platform-specific object. The server advertises only the current platform's object in its tool schema.

base (required):

• query (required): Search query string. See the syntax guide.
• max_results (optional): Maximum number of results to return (default: 100, range: 1-1000)

windows_params (optional, Windows only):

• match_path: Match against full path instead of filename only (default: false)
• match_case: Enable case-sensitive search (default: false)
• match_whole_word: Match whole words only (default: false)
• match_regex: Enable regex search (default: false)
• sort_by: Sort order for results (default: 1). Available options:

  - 1: Sort by filename (A to Z)
  - 2: Sort by filename (Z to A)
  - 3: Sort by path (A to Z)
  - 4: Sort by path (Z to A)
  - 5: Sort by size (smallest first)
  - 6: Sort by size (largest first)
  - 7: Sort by extension (A to Z)
  - 8: Sort by extension (Z to A)
  - 11: Sort by creation date (oldest first)
  - 12: Sort by creation date (newest first)
  - 13: Sort by modification date (oldest first)
  - 14: Sort by modification date (newest first)

mac_params (optional, macOS only):

• search_directory: Limit the search to a directory (mdfind -onlyin)
• literal_query: Treat the query as a literal Spotlight query string (-literal)
• interpret_query: Interpret the query as if typed in the Spotlight menu (-interpret)
• live_updates: Not supported. mdfind -live never exits, so setting it returns an error.

By default the query is a filename search (mdfind -name). Setting literal_query or interpret_query passes the query to Spotlight as-is instead.

linux_params (optional, Linux only):

• ignore_case: Case-insensitive search, -i (default: true)
• regex_search: Treat the query as a regular expression (default: false)
• existing_files: Only list files that still exist, -e (default: true)
• count_only: Return only the number of matches, -c (default: false)

Examples:

{
  "base": {"query": "*.py", "max_results": 50},
  "windows_params": {"sort_by": 6}
}

{
  "base": {"query": "ext:py datemodified:today", "max_results": 10}
}

{
  "base": {"query": "ENABLE", "max_results": 50},
  "mac_params": {"search_directory": "/Users/me/code/myrepo"}
}

Each result includes:

• Path: full path
• Filename: name, with the extension in parentheses when present
• Size: size in bytes
• Created, Modified, Accessed: timestamps, or N/A when unavailable

If a search fails (invalid arguments, Everything not running, and so on), the tool returns an error result (isError: true) whose text starts with Search failed:.

Search Syntax Guide

For detailed information about the search syntax supported on each platform (Windows, macOS, and Linux), please see SEARCH_SYNTAX.md.

Prerequisites

Windows

1. Everything search utility:
   • Download and install from https://www.voidtools.com/
   • Make sure the Everything service is running
2. Everything SDK:
   • Download from https://www.voidtools.com/support/everything/sdk/
   • Extract the SDK files to a location on your system

Linux

1. Install and initialize the locate or plocate command:
   • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install plocate or sudo apt-get install mlocate
   • Fedora: sudo dnf install mlocate
2. After installation, update the database:
   • For plocate: sudo updatedb
   • For mlocate: sudo /etc/cron.daily/mlocate

macOS

No additional setup required. The server uses the built-in mdfind command.

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Everything Search for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install mcp-server-everything-search --client claude

Using uv (recommended)

When using uv no specific installation is needed. We will use uvx to directly run mcp-server-everything-search.

Using PIP

Alternatively you can install mcp-server-everything-search via pip:

pip install mcp-server-everything-search

After installation, you can run it as a script using:

python -m mcp_server_everything_search

Configuration

Windows

The server requires the Everything SDK DLL to be available:

Environment variable:

EVERYTHING_SDK_PATH=path\to\Everything-SDK\dll\Everything64.dll

Linux and macOS

No additional configuration required.

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add one of these configurations to your claude_desktop_config.json based on your platform:

"mcpServers": {
  "everything-search": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-server-everything-search"],
    "env": {
      "EVERYTHING_SDK_PATH": "path/to/Everything-SDK/dll/Everything64.dll"
    }
  }
}

"mcpServers": {
  "everything-search": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_everything_search"],
    "env": {
      "EVERYTHING_SDK_PATH": "path/to/Everything-SDK/dll/Everything64.dll"
    }
  }
}

"mcpServers": {
  "everything-search": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-server-everything-search"]
  }
}

"mcpServers": {
  "everything-search": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": ["-m", "mcp_server_everything_search"]
  }
}

Debugging

You can use the MCP inspector to debug the server. For uvx installations:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx mcp-server-everything-search

Or if you've installed the package in a specific directory or are developing on it:

git clone https://github.com/mamertofabian/mcp-everything-search.git
cd mcp-everything-search/src/mcp_server_everything_search
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run mcp-server-everything-search

To view server logs:

Linux/macOS:

tail -f ~/.config/Claude/logs/mcp*.log

Windows (PowerShell):

Get-Content -Path "$env:APPDATA\Claude\logs\mcp*.log" -Tail 20 -Wait

Development

If you are doing local development, there are two ways to test your changes:

1. Run the MCP inspector to test your changes. See Debugging for run instructions.

2. Test using the Claude desktop app. Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

"everything-search": {
  "command": "uv",
  "args": [
    "--directory",
    "/path/to/mcp-everything-search/src/mcp_server_everything_search",
    "run",
    "mcp-server-everything-search"
  ],
  "env": {
    "EVERYTHING_SDK_PATH": "path/to/Everything-SDK/dll/Everything64.dll"
  }
}

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.

Disclaimer

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by voidtools (the creators of Everything search utility). This is an independent project that utilizes the publicly available Everything SDK.