local-getting-started

name	local-getting-started
description	Getting started with local — the 105-tool Windows filesystem, shell, and session server. Use when: first time using local, need file I/O, shell commands, git ops, transforms, PowerShell sessions, SQLite queries, or Windows registry access.

What Local Is

A single MCP server (local.exe) with 105 tools across 16 modules. It handles everything between your AI agent and the Windows filesystem, shell, and system.

Module	Tools	What It Does
Core I/O	22	run, chain, read/write/append files, list dirs, processes, clipboard, archive, search
Sessions	11	Persistent shell sessions with env, history, checkpoints, recovery
Transforms	14	JSON, CSV, base64, diff, find-replace, hash, grep, scaffold
PowerShell	6	Persistent PowerShell sessions (psession_create/run/read/list/destroy/history)
Git	13	git_status, git_log, git_commit, git_stash, git_reset, git_diff, git_branch, git_checkout, git_clone, git_pull, git_push, git_remote, git_diff_summary
Breadcrumbs	7	Operation tracking: start, step, complete, abort, status, backup, clear
HTTP	4	http_request, http_fetch, http_scrape, http_download
Security	2	Command validation, audit logging
Shortcuts	3	Predefined command shortcuts with chaining
Smart	2	smart_exec (auto-pick shell), smart_read (auto-format file read)
Utils	4	Config backup, validation, markdown-to-docx
Bag/Tag	3	Key-value scratch storage for cross-tool state
SQLite	1	Direct SQLite queries
Registry	1	Windows registry reads
Health	3	Server health, tool fallback, deploy preflight
Plan	2	plan, plan_assemble

Key Tools

I want to...	Use
Run a shell command	run or smart_exec
Read/write files	read_file / write_file / append_file
Persistent shell session	session_create → session_run → session_read_output
Transform JSON/CSV	transform_json_format / transform_csv_to_json
Git operations	git_status, git_log, git_commit, git_clone, git_pull, git_push, git_remote
PowerShell with state	psession_create → psession_run → psession_read
Search files	search_file (by name) / transform_grep (by content)
Track multi-step work	breadcrumb_start → breadcrumb_step → breadcrumb_complete
Query a database	sqlite_query
Download a file	http_download

Common Patterns

Run a command and get output: local:run(command="cargo build --release", cwd="C:/project")

Persistent session for stateful work: local:session_create(name="build") → local:session_run(name="build", command="cd /project && cargo build") → local:session_read_output(name="build")

Transform data: local:transform_csv_to_json(path="data.csv") or local:transform_json_format(path="config.json")

Anti-Patterns

• Don't use run for PowerShell — use powershell or psession_run (proper encoding)
• Don't use run with pipes for complex transforms — use the transform_* tools
• Don't create throwaway sessions — reuse named sessions for related commands