diskdiet for AI assistants (MCP)¶

diskdiet mcp runs diskdiet as a Model Context Protocol server, so an AI coding assistant can tell you what is using disk space and free it when you ask. Ask things like "my disk is almost full, what's taking space?" or "clear old package caches, but keep Docker".

Set up¶

Use diskdiet mcp if diskdiet is installed (see Install), or npx -y diskdiet mcp to run it with nothing installed but Node.js.

Claude Code: the plugin adds the tools and a skill:

/plugin install diskdiet --marketplace roystondwork-dev/diskdiet

or just the tools:

claude mcp add diskdiet -- diskdiet mcp

VS Code (Copilot)

code --add-mcp '{"name":"diskdiet","command":"diskdiet","args":["mcp"]}'

Cursor, Windsurf and others use the same server definition in their MCP settings file (for Cursor, ~/.cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "diskdiet": { "command": "diskdiet", "args": ["mcp"] }
  }
}

Tools¶

Tool	What it does
`scan_disk_usage`	Measures every cache diskdiet knows and what is removable: things unused for `older_than_days` (default 30). Optional: `sources` to limit it, `projects` folders to search for `node_modules` and `target`, `include_docker_volumes`. Changes nothing.
`free_disk_space`	Removes what the last scan reported as removable, for the `sources` you choose. `keep_projects` leaves individual `node_modules` or `target` folders alone; `move_projects_to_trash` sends them to the Trash instead of deleting them.

Safety¶

Nothing is removed without a scan you've seen. free_disk_space only works within 15 minutes of a scan_disk_usage, removes exactly what that scan listed, and each scan is good for one clean.
You're asked. The tool is marked destructive, so assistants ask your permission before calling it. When the assistant supports MCP confirmations (elicitation), diskdiet also asks you directly, for example "Free about 12.3 GB from npm cache, Go caches?", and removes nothing unless you accept.
The same rules as diskdiet clean: never outside a cache folder; the tool's own prune command for pnpm, uv and Docker; Docker volumes only when asked; a cache is skipped while its package manager is installing or building.