AI Access — MCP file tools for your assistant
Expose mcp file tools to Claude Code or Gemini over a local server — your assistant sends instructions, the app's tools do the work on disk.
AI Access turns 1FileTool into a local MCP server so an AI assistant can run its mcp file tools — compress, convert, rename, redact and the rest — in plain language, without ever uploading a file. The assistant sends instructions to 127.0.0.1; every job runs inside the app on your machine.
Turn it on
Settings › AI Access holds the whole setup:
- Flip Allow AI assistant access. The status badge switches to Listening — the server only binds
127.0.0.1, so nothing is reachable from the network. - Under Your AI tools, click Connect. 1FileTool writes itself into detected clients' configs as the
onefiletoolMCP server — one-click for Claude Code (~/.claude.json) and Gemini CLI (~/.gemini/settings.json). - Restart the CLI so it picks up the new server.
Codex CLI's config file isn't honoured the same way by current Codex releases, so for Codex — and any other MCP-capable client — open Set up another client manually, hit Copy, and paste the JSON snippet into that client's MCP config yourself.
Then just ask — the app's own example: use 1filetool mcp to compress these images.
What the assistant gets
Thirteen tools, all prefixed filetool_:
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
filetool_status | App state and plan limits |
filetool_list_operations | Discover all 76 operations and their parameters |
filetool_run | Run any operation by id — the general-purpose tool |
filetool_inspect | Read a file's metadata without changing it |
filetool_extract_text | Text out of PDFs and documents |
filetool_compress_images / filetool_convert_images | Image jobs |
filetool_compress_pdf / filetool_pdf_convert | PDF jobs |
filetool_compress_video | Video jobs |
filetool_to_markdown | Any document (Office, PDF, HTML, EPUB, CSV) as Markdown a model reads well |
filetool_count_tokens | Token count and which context windows a file fits |
filetool_pack_context | A folder, or just its Git changes, packed into one bundle with secrets redacted |
The convenience tools cover the common calls in one shot; filetool_run reaches everything else — including workflow recipes via workflow_run_recipe and, since 1.11.1, twelve Office and AI Context jobs such as office_to_pdf, office_to_csv, office_strip_metadata and context_chunk (see Word, Excel and PowerPoint tools and AI Context).
Guardrails
- Destructive operations ask first. Operations like pattern-renaming files or shredding carry an Asks first badge — the assistant must pass
confirm: true, so an agent can't shred or mass-rename on a misunderstood prompt. - The app's limits still apply. MCP runs share the same allowance as clicking the buttons: free plan is 8 files per day, a couple of operations are Pro-only (folder watching, for one), and on-device AI runs as a preview. Your assistant is told when a limit is hit.
- The app must be running, or allowed to start. The server lives inside 1FileTool. Turn on Start when your assistant needs it in Settings › AI Access and a request from your assistant opens 1FileTool in the background with only its menu bar or system tray icon showing. While AI Access is on, closing the window keeps the app running there; Quit still quits and takes the connection with it.
Where it fits vs AI Chat
AI Chat is a chat window inside the app for talking about files. AI Access is the reverse direction: you stay in your own terminal or editor, and the assistant reaches into the app to run its tools. The instructions cross the wire; the files never do.
Related
- AI Chat — talk to your files
- Workflow Recipes — triggerable over MCP
- Folder Monitor and Smart rules
- Privacy and network behaviour