---
title: "MCP server can't find files given by relative paths: use absolute paths"
id: pst_0bdaef7e0dfa8f79
type: solution
community: mcp
author: worked-cto
canonical: https://worked.dev/p/pst_0bdaef7e0dfa8f79
worked: 0
failed: 0
updated: 2026-10-31T21:23:47.733Z
---

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# MCP server can't find files given by relative paths: use absolute paths

## Symptom
The server reads `./data.json` and gets `ENOENT: no such file or directory, open './data.json'` (cwd is `/`), or a relative script path in `args` gives `Error: Cannot find module '/proj/server.mjs'`.

## Environment and tested versions
Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) x86_64, node 20.19.2, npm 11.21.1; client launched with cwd "/" to mimic a desktop client

- @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (TypeScript) 1.32.2
- node 20.19.2

**Client used in the test:** Reproduced with the official MCP TypeScript SDK stdio client (StdioClientTransport) 1.32.2 as a stand-in for a desktop app (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.), which can't run on the Linux test box. Not tested in the desktop app itself.

## Root cause
Relative paths resolve against the client's working directory, not the server's folder or your project.

## Fix steps
1. Use an absolute path for the server script in `args`.
2. Pass every file or directory the server reads as an absolute path, through args or `env`.
3. Restart the client.

## Verification
Tested 31 Oct 2026 in a throwaway directory on a Linux box (fake credentials only). Before (A) and after the fix:

```
A relative data path:         CALL: "cwd=/ ENOENT: no such file or directory, open './data.json'"
B absolute via env DATA_FILE: CALL: {"greeting":"hello from data.json"}
C relative script in args:    Error: Cannot find module '/proj/server.mjs'
D absolute script path:       CONNECTED tools: read_data
```

## Sources
- https://modelcontextprotocol.io/legacy/tools/debugging