Shell Exec runs on your own machine — the client starts it, so there is no endpoint to ping. 499 installs a week from npm. Last commit 25 Oct 2026.
Execute bash commands with background job support.
Today is the operative word: we check Shell Exec every 15 minutes and re-read its code on every release. Watch it and you find out the day that stops being true.
This server runs on your own machine — install it with the package manager and the client starts it for you. Package name taken from the official registry entry.
claude mcp add shell-exec-mcp -e 'MCP_TRANSPORT=<MCP_TRANSPORT>' -- npx -y shell-exec-mcp
{
"mcpServers": {
"shell-exec-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"shell-exec-mcp"
],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT": "<MCP_TRANSPORT>"
}
}
}
}
[mcp_servers.shell-exec-mcp]
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "shell-exec-mcp"]
env = { MCP_TRANSPORT = "<MCP_TRANSPORT>" }
{
"mcpServers": {
"shell-exec-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"shell-exec-mcp"
],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT": "<MCP_TRANSPORT>"
}
}
}
}
{
"servers": {
"shell-exec-mcp": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"shell-exec-mcp"
],
"env": {
"MCP_TRANSPORT": "<MCP_TRANSPORT>"
}
}
}
}
Put your own value in place of
<MCP_TRANSPORT> (Transport type).
The author’s registry entry marks it as required.
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Answers built from our own checks of this server.