Tip for Faster Debugging with Local Files with File Access MCP

You can make debugging and troubleshooting much faster by exposing local files through an MCP (Model Context Protocol) file server. This allows tools like Cursor to directly query logs, config files, or any other resources without manually opening and searching through them.

Example: Pointing to a Logs Directory

{
  "mcpservers": {
    "logs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/logs/"
      ]
    }
  }
}

With this setup, you can ask questions like:

“Has this record synced successfully?”

“Show me the last error message.”

“What’s the current status of this process?”

Generalizing for Any Files

You’re not limited to logs — you can point the MCP server at any directory you want. For example, if you want quick access to configuration files:

{
  "mcpservers": {
    "configs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem",
        "/path/to/configs/"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Now you can interact with configs conversationally, such as:

“What’s the current value of the timeout setting?”

“Show me the database connection string.”

“List all modified config files in this directory.”

✅ Key Benefits:

Faster debugging and issue resolution.

No need to manually grep or open files repeatedly.

Works with any directory: logs, configs, traces, or even custom data files.