Filesystem (Reference) vs Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote)

A side-by-side comparison of two Files & Storage servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	Filesystem (Reference) Official MCP reference server for secure local filesystem read/write within allowed directories. Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript	Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) Cloudflare's hosted remote MCP server for searching Cloudflare developer docs; no auth required. Verified HTTP (remote) No auth TypeScript
Category	Files & Storage	Files & Storage
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	HTTP (remote)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	74k	3.1k
Last commit	5 months ago	4 months ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /absolute/path/to/dir`	`Add remote URL https://docs.mcp.cloudflare.com/mcp to your MCP client`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick Filesystem (Reference) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine.

Pick Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Add Filesystem (Reference)

Install / run

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem /absolute/path/to/dir

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem-reference": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/absolute/path/to/dir"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote)

Install / run

Add remote URL https://docs.mcp.cloudflare.com/mcp to your MCP client

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cloudflare-documentation-mcp-remote": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-remote",
        "https://docs.mcp.cloudflare.com/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

FAQ

Filesystem (Reference) or Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) — which is better?

Pick Filesystem (Reference) if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option, and you want a local (stdio) server that keeps data on your machine. Pick Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) if you want a hosted/remote server with nothing to install.

Can I use both Filesystem (Reference) and Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote)?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do Filesystem (Reference) and Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View Filesystem (Reference) →View Cloudflare Documentation MCP (Remote) →More comparisons →