The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a big deal in artificial intelligence. It was introduced on November 25th, 2024, and it’s like a universal connector for AI systems. Before MCP, AI assistants were like chefs with only one ingredient - their own capabilities. But now, with MCP, AI assistants have a “fully stocked pantry” of information to work with. This means they can do more and better things for us.
MCP works by connecting AI systems to different data sources, like Google Drive, Slack, GitHub, and even local databases. This makes it easier for AI to access and use the information it needs to do its job. For example, if you ask your AI assistant to analyze sales data from a local database, the assistant sends a request to the MCP server, which gets the data and sends it back to the assistant. It’s like ordering takeout - the AI assistant places the order, the MCP server delivers the data, and the database is the restaurant.
Anthropic, the folks behind MCP, have released some really cool stuff to make it easier for developers to use: specs and software development kits (SDKs) for developers, local MCP server support in their Claude desktop apps, and an open-source repository of pre-built MCP servers for platforms like Google Drive, Slack, and GitHub. The SDKs are like toolboxes that give developers everything they need to integrate MCP into their apps and make sure AI systems can talk to different data sources easily. The fact that it’s open-source means that the community can work together to make MCP even better and more widely used.
In short, MCP is going to make a big difference in how we use AI in our daily lives. It’s going to make it easier for AI assistants to access and analyze all sorts of data, which means we’ll be able to make better decisions and get more done. By solving the problems of data accessibility and integration, MCP is paving the way for more autonomous and intelligent AI systems.
The best way to understand MCP's power is to try it yourself. Let me walk you through setting up the filesystem MCP local server to access your file system. Then we'll explore what it can do using the Claude client.
I'll help you set up the MCP filesystem plugin for Claude Desktop on your MacBook Pro with clear, step-by-step instructions. Before setting up Local MCP server support, you'll need to install the Claude Desktop apps. While these instructions focus on Mac, you can easily adapt them for Windows or Linux.
Before we begin, let's verify you have the required components:
Check if Node.js is installed:
node --version
If not installed, download from https://nodejs.org/