Docker MCP Server

Add to your client

Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-server-docker"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Before you start

• A running Docker daemon (local via the Docker socket, or a remote daemon reachable over SSH)
• Python with the `uv`/`uvx` package manager (or Docker, to run the server itself as a container)
• No API key required — it uses your local Docker engine permissions
• An MCP-capable client such as Claude Desktop

About Docker MCP Server

Tools & capabilities (19)

When to use it

• Use it when you want to spin up a container (e.g. a Postgres or Redis instance) for local development by just describing it.
• Use it when you want to compose a multi-container stack from a natural-language description via the docker_compose prompt.
• Use it when you need to inspect running containers, pull their logs, or check stats while debugging.
• Use it when you want an agent to clean up unused containers, images, networks, or volumes.
• Use it when you want to manage a remote Docker host over SSH from your local agent.

Quick setup

1. 1Ensure Docker is installed and the daemon is running (or you have SSH access to a remote daemon).
2. 2Add the server to your client config: command `uvx` with args `mcp-server-docker`.
3. 3Alternatively run it as a container and mount the Docker socket (`/var/run/docker.sock`) so it can reach the daemon.
4. 4For a remote host, configure the SSH connection / DOCKER_HOST so the server targets the right daemon.
5. 5Restart your MCP client, then verify by asking the agent to run list_containers.

Docker MCP Server FAQ