MCP File Analyzer MCP Server

MCP File Analyzer: Complete Setup & Usage Guide

This guide will walk you through setting up a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that can analyze CSV and Parquet files, and connecting it to Claude Desktop for natural language data analysis.

🎯 What You'll Build

A powerful data analysis tool that allows Claude to:

• 📊 Read and analyze CSV/Parquet files
• 📈 Generate statistical summaries
• 👀 Show data previews and structure
• 🔧 Create sample datasets
• 💬 Answer natural language questions about your data

What is MCP?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a standardized way to connect AI assistants like Claude to external tools and data sources. It allows you to:

• 🔐 Give Claude access to your local files (securely)
• 🛠️ Create custom tools that Claude can use
• 🔄 Build reusable AI workflows
• 🏠 Keep your data secure and local (no API keys needed!)

Quick Start

⚡ For the Impatient

# Clone or create project directory
mkdir mcp-file-analyzer && cd mcp-file-analyzer

# Set up virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install mcp>=1.0.0 pandas>=2.0.0 pyarrow>=10.0.0

# Create and test the server (copy main.py and client.py from this repo)
python main.py  # Start server (Ctrl+C to stop)
python client.py  # Test the connection

# Configure Claude Desktop (see detailed steps below)

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Python 3.8 or higher installed
• pip (Python package manager)
• Claude Desktop installed (download here)
• macOS, Windows, or Linux (Claude Desktop support varies)

Check your Python version:

python3 --version  # Should be 3.8+

Project Setup

Step 1: Create Project and Virtual Environment

# Create project directory
mkdir mcp-file-analyzer
cd mcp-file-analyzer

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv

# Activate virtual environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate
# On Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Create requirements.txt:

# Core dependencies for MCP File Analyzer
mcp>=1.0.0
pandas>=2.0.0
pyarrow>=10.0.0

# HTTP client dependencies (optional)
httpx>=0.27.0

# Development dependencies (optional)
# pytest>=7.0.0
# black>=23.0.0
# flake8>=6.0.0

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 3: Create Project Files

Your project needs these core files:

1. main.py - The MCP server
2. client.py - Testing client
3. requirements.txt - Dependencies
4. run_mcp_server.sh - Launcher script for Claude Desktop
5. claude_desktop_config.json - Claude Desktop configuration

Step 4: Create Helper Scripts

Create activate_env.sh for easy environment activation:

#!/bin/bash
echo "🚀 Activating virtual environment..."
source .venv/bin/activate
echo "✅ Virtual environment activated!"
echo "📦 Installed packages:"
pip list --format=columns
echo ""
echo "🎯 Quick start commands:"
echo "  - Run MCP server: python main.py"
echo "  - Run demo client: python client.py"
echo "  - Interactive client: python client.py interactive"

Make it executable:

chmod +x activate_env.sh

Claude Desktop Integration

🎯 Method 1: Direct Integration (Recommended)

Step 1: Create Launcher Script

Create run_mcp_server.sh:

#!/bin/bash
# MCP Server Launcher for Claude Desktop

# Get the directory where this script is located
SCRIPT_DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" &> /dev/null && pwd )"

# Change to the script directory
cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"

# Activate the virtual environment
source .venv/bin/activate

# Run the MCP server
python main.py

Make it executable:

chmod +x run_mcp_server.sh

Step 2: Create Claude Desktop Configuration

Create claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "file_analyzer": {
      "command": "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT/run_mcp_server.sh",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/YOUR/PROJECT with your actual project path. Get it with:

pwd  # Copy this output

Step 3: Install Configuration in Claude Desktop

Copy the configuration to Claude Desktop:

macOS:

cp claude_desktop_config.json ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Windows:

copy claude_desktop_config.json %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Linux:

cp claude_desktop_config.json ~/.config/clau