> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://opentools.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart

> Discover and use tools via Model Context Protocol

OpenTools makes it easy to discover and use tools via Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Let's walk through adding the [filesystem](https://opentools.com/registry/filesystem-ref) server to Claude Desktop. This lets Claude to read and write files on your local filesystem (with your permission).

<div className="flex justify-center">
  <img className="rounded-lg md:w-1/2" width="800" src="https://mintcdn.com/opentools/mM27skmF9L2v_1zE/images/quickstart-filesystem.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mM27skmF9L2v_1zE&q=85&s=c7e7699a7bf293f959576c4f2ae0aed2" alt="Screenshot of filesystem tool in action" data-path="images/quickstart-filesystem.png" />
</div>

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) version 18.0 or higher
* npm (comes with Node.js) version 7.0 or higher
* [Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download) installed

To verify your installations, run this in your terminal:

```bash theme={null}
npm --version
```

## Setup Instructions

Next, open Claude's menu bar settings (not the in-app settings) and select "Settings...":

<div className="flex justify-center">
  <img className="rounded-lg border border-gray-200 md:w-1/2" width="800" src="https://mintcdn.com/opentools/mM27skmF9L2v_1zE/images/quickstart-menu.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mM27skmF9L2v_1zE&q=85&s=b263f145b3daf4fecf5f91e39af0dfa9" alt="Screenshot of Claude menu bar settings" data-path="images/quickstart-menu.png" />
</div>

Click on "Developer" in the lefthand bar of the Settings pane, and then click on "Get Started":

<div className="flex justify-center">
  <img className="rounded-lg border border-gray-200 md:w-1/2" width="800" src="https://mintcdn.com/opentools/mM27skmF9L2v_1zE/images/quickstart-developer.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mM27skmF9L2v_1zE&q=85&s=13b495dcaa5aa1f7cf254cf5cdcbf816" alt="Screenshot of Claude developer settings" data-path="images/quickstart-developer.png" />
</div>

Run this terminal command to install the filesystem server:

```bash theme={null}
npx opentools i filesystem-ref
```

This will take you through a series of questions where you specify which filepaths Claude is allowed to access. Once you've done that, OpenTools will restart your Claude application. This time you should see a new hammer icon in the bottom right corner of the input box:

<div className="flex justify-center">
  <img className="rounded-lg border border-gray-200 md:w-1/2" width="800" src="https://mintcdn.com/opentools/mM27skmF9L2v_1zE/images/quickstart-hammer.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mM27skmF9L2v_1zE&q=85&s=397657c17498b11654caa32cec2b1318" alt="Screenshot showing the hammer icon in Claude's input box" data-path="images/quickstart-hammer.png" />
</div>

## Using the Filesystem Tool

That's it! Try asking Claude about files in your allowed directories. Here are some examples:

* Can you write a poem and save it to my desktop?
* What are some work-related files in my downloads folder?
* Can you take all the images on my desktop and move them to a new folder called "Images"?

If you find `filesystem-ref` useful, try many more tools like it in the OpenTools [registry](https://opentools.com/registry?category=cli).