Everything Search MCP Server

A powerful Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates with Everything Search Engine, providing lightning-fast file search capabilities across your entire system. This server enables natural language file searches and advanced filtering options through MCP-compatible applications like Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP clients.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start
  • Prerequisites
  • Step 1: Install Everything Search Engine
  • Step 2: Install the MCP Server
  • Step 3: Configure Your MCP Client
  • Step 4: Restart Your MCP Client
• Usage
• Examples
• Parameters Reference
• Troubleshooting
• What's New
• Development
• Contributing
• License
• Support

Features

• 🚀 Lightning Fast Search: Leverages Everything Search Engine's instant file indexing
• 🔍 Natural Language Queries: Search using natural language descriptions like "large video files" or "recent documents"
• 🎯 Advanced Search Options: Case sensitivity, whole word matching, regex support
• 📁 Path-Based Search: Search within specific directories or across entire drives
• 📊 Smart Sorting: Sort by name, path, size, or modification date
• 🎨 Rich Formatting: Human-readable file sizes and formatted dates
• 🌐 Global Installation: Install once, use everywhere across all MCP clients
• ⚡ Real-time Results: Instant search results as you type
• 🔧 Highly Configurable: Customizable ports, scopes, and search parameters

Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Windows OS (Everything Search Engine is Windows-only)

2. Node.js 16+ - Download here

3. Everything Search Engine - Download here

Step 1: Install Everything Search Engine

1. Download and install Everything Search Engine

2. Open Everything Search

3. Go to Tools > Options > HTTP Server

4. ✅ Enable HTTP Server

5. Set port to 8011 (default)

6. Click OK and restart Everything

Step 2: Install the MCP Server

Option A: Global Installation (Recommended)

npm install -g everything-search-mcp-server

> Note: If you haven't published to npm yet, users should use Option B (From Source) until the package is available on npm.

Option B: From Source

git clone https://github.com/ananyaakamat/everything-search-mcp-server.git
cd everything-search-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
npm install -g .

Step 3: Configure Your MCP Client

For Claude Desktop

Add to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

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

Config File Locations:

• Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
• macOS: `~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
• Linux: `~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`

For VS Code

For quick installation, use one of the one-click install buttons below...

For manual installation, add the following JSON block to your User Settings (JSON) file in VS Code. You can do this by pressing `Ctrl + Shift + P` and typing `Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)`.

Optionally, you can add it to a file called `.vscode/mcp.json` in your workspace. This will allow you to share the configuration with others.

> Note that the `mcp` key is needed when using the `mcp.json` file.

Add to your VS Code `settings.json`:

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

Settings File Locations:

• Windows: `%APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json`
• macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json`
• Linux: `~/.config/Code/User/settings.json`

> Note: Ensure you have the MCP extension installed in VS Code for MCP server support.

Step 4: Restart Your MCP Client

Restart Claude Desktop or VS Code to load the new server.

Step 5: Verify Installation

Test that the server is working:

# Check if the command is available
everything-search-mcp-server --help

# Or test with a simple search (if Everything is running)
# The server should start and respond to MCP requests

In your MCP client, try a simple search like:

• "Search for README files"
• "Find all .txt files"
• "Show me large video files"
• "Find recent Word documents"

Usage

The server provides two powerful tools:

1. `search` - Advanced File Search

{
  "query": "search terms",
  "scope": "C:",
  "caseSensitive": false,
  "wholeWord": false,
  "regex": false,
  "path": false,
  "maxResults": 100,
  "sortBy": "name",
  "ascending": true
}

2. `natural_search` - Natural Language Search

{
  "naturalQuery": "find all video files larger than 1GB",
  "maxResults": 50
}

Examples

Basic Searches

// Find all PDF files
{
  "query": "*.pdf",
  "maxResults": 10
}

// Search for "readme" files
{
  "query": "readme",
  "maxResults": 5
}

Advanced Searches

// Case-sensitive search in specific directory
{
  "query": "Config",
  "scope": "C:\\Users\\YourName\\AppData",
  "caseSensitive": true,
  "maxResults": 20
}

// Regex search for JavaScript files
{
  "query": ".*\\.(js|ts)$",
  "regex": true,
  "sortBy": "date_modified",
  "ascending": false
}

Natural Language Searches

// Find large video files
{
  "naturalQuery": "large video files on desktop",
  "maxResults": 10
}

// Find recent documents
{
  "naturalQuery": "documents modified this week",
  "maxResults": 15
}

// Find development projects
{
  "naturalQuery": "programming projects with package.json",
  "maxResults": 5
}

Parameters Reference

`search` Tool Parameters

`natural_search` Tool Parameters

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Connection refused" error

2. "Command not found" error

3. No results returned

4. Performance issues

Configuration

Custom Port Configuration

If you need to use a different port:

1. Change Everything's HTTP port (Tools > Options > HTTP Server)

2. Set environment variable: `EVERYTHING_PORT=8012`

3. Or modify the server source code

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging:

DEBUG=everything-search:* everything-search-mcp-server

What's New

Version 1.0.0 🎉

• Initial Release: Complete MCP server implementation
• Natural Language Search: AI-powered search queries
• Global Installation: Easy npm-based installation
• Multi-Client Support: Works with Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP clients
• Advanced Search Options: Regex, case sensitivity, path search
• Rich Documentation: Comprehensive setup and usage guide

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/ananyaakamat/everything-search-mcp-server.git
cd everything-search-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Running Tests

npm test

Contributing

1. Fork the repository

2. Create a feature branch: `git checkout -b feature-name`

3. Make your changes

4. Add tests if applicable

5. Commit: `git commit -am 'Add feature'`

6. Push: `git push origin feature-name`

7. Create a Pull Request

License

ISC License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• 📧 Email: anant.kamat.in@gmail.com

Related Projects

• Everything Search Engine - The powerful file search engine this server integrates with
• Model Context Protocol - The protocol this server implements
• Claude Desktop - AI assistant with MCP support

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