Docker MCP Server

Docker MCP Server

A comprehensive, production-ready, industry-standard compliant MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server that enables full Docker management capabilities for AI assistants like GitHub Copilot and Claude. Featuring 37 powerful tools covering containers, images, networks, volumes, and system operations.

📋 Table of Contents

• About
• Quick Start
• Features
• Installation
• Usage
• Available Tools
• Testing Your Connection
• Development
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• Documentation
• License

About

Docker MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server that bridges AI assistants with Docker, enabling natural language Docker operations. Built with TypeScript and following industry best practices, it provides a complete Docker management solution for AI-powered development workflows.

Why Docker MCP Server?

• 🤖 AI-Native: Designed specifically for AI assistants (GitHub Copilot, Claude)
• 🔧 Complete Coverage: 37 tools covering all essential Docker operations
• 🌐 Remote Support: Connect to Docker on any host via TCP, HTTPS, or SSH tunnel
• 🔒 Security First: Full TLS/SSL support with certificate authentication
• 📦 Production Ready: Comprehensive error handling, type safety, and testing
• 📚 Well Documented: Extensive documentation with examples for every feature
• 🚀 Easy to Use: Simple installation and configuration

Use Cases

• AI-Assisted DevOps: Let AI assistants manage your Docker infrastructure
• Container Orchestration: Create, manage, and monitor containers through natural language
• Development Automation: Automate Docker workflows with AI assistance
• Remote Management: Securely manage Docker on remote hosts
• Learning & Exploration: Explore Docker capabilities with AI guidance

Quick Start

For npm Users (Recommended)

# Install globally
npm install -g @swartdraak/docker-mcp-server

# Or use with npx (no installation needed)
npx @swartdraak/docker-mcp-server

For Developers

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Swartdraak/Docker-MCP.git
cd Docker-MCP

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the project
npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

✨ Features

Core Capabilities

• ✅ 37 Docker Tools: Complete coverage of Docker operations including connection validation
• ✅ Remote Docker Support: Connect to Docker on remote hosts via TCP, HTTP, HTTPS, or SSH tunnel
• ✅ Secure Connections: Full TLS/SSL support for secure remote Docker management
• ✅ Container Management: Create, run, start, stop, restart, pause, unpause, rename, remove, exec, stats, logs
• ✅ Image Operations: List, pull, build, push, tag, remove, prune
• ✅ Network Management: List, create, remove, inspect, connect, disconnect
• ✅ Volume Management: List, create, remove, inspect, prune
• ✅ System Operations: Info, version, connection validation, prune (containers, images, volumes, networks)
• ✅ Proper Array Handling: Correctly handles command, entrypoint, and environment variables
• ✅ VS Code Integration: Works seamlessly with GitHub Copilot
• ✅ Industry Standard: Uses MCP SDK and Docker best practices
• ✅ TypeScript: Full type safety and modern JavaScript features

Recent Enhancements

• 🌐 Remote Docker Host Support: Connect to Docker on any remote host
• 🔒 TLS/HTTPS Support: Secure connections with certificate authentication
• 🔑 Environment-based Configuration: Easy setup via DOCKER_HOST, DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY, DOCKER_CERT_PATH
• 🚇 SSH Tunnel Support: Secure remote access without exposing Docker API

What's New in v2.0

• 🚀 25 New Tools: Added extensive container, image, network, and volume management
• 🔧 Container Exec: Execute commands in running containers
• 📊 Container Stats: Real-time CPU, memory, network, and I/O metrics
• 🏗️ Image Building: Build images from Dockerfile with build args
• 🔄 Advanced Lifecycle: Restart, pause, unpause, rename containers
• 🌐 Full Network CRUD: Create, inspect, connect, disconnect, remove networks
• 💾 Full Volume CRUD: Create, inspect, remove volumes
• 🧹 Resource Cleanup: Prune unused containers, images, volumes, networks
• ⚙️ System Info: Get Docker daemon information and version

Installation

Via npm (Recommended)

npm install -g @swartdraak/docker-mcp-server

From Source

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18 or higher
• Docker installed and running
• npm or yarn package manager

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Swartdraak/Docker-MCP.git
cd Docker-MCP

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the project:

npm run build

Usage

Standalone Mode

Run the server directly:

npm start

Remote Docker Configuration

The MCP server supports connecting to remote Docker hosts using environment variables:

Connect to Remote Docker via TCP

DOCKER_HOST=tcp://192.168.1.100:2375 npm start

Connect to Remote Docker via HTTPS with TLS

DOCKER_HOST=https://192.168.1.100:2376 \
DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1 \
DOCKER_CERT_PATH=~/.docker/certs \
npm start

Connect via SSH Tunnel

First, set up an SSH tunnel:

ssh -NL localhost:2375:/var/run/docker.sock user@remote-host

Then connect to the tunneled Docker:

DOCKER_HOST=tcp://localhost:2375 npm start

VS Code Integration

To integrate with VS Code and GitHub Copilot, add the following to your MCP settings file:

For Local Docker (~/.vscode/mcp-settings.json or in your workspace settings):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Docker-MCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

For Remote Docker over TCP:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Docker-MCP/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DOCKER_HOST": "tcp://192.168.1.100:2375"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Remote Docker with TLS:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Docker-MCP/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "DOCKER_HOST": "https://192.168.1.100:2376",
        "DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY": "1",
        "DOCKER_CERT_PATH": "/home/user/.docker/certs"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/Docker-MCP/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Alternative using npx (after publishing to npm):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@swartdraak/docker-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Testing Your Connection

Connection Test Utility

Before using the MCP server, you can test your Docker connection with the included test utility:

# Test local Docker connection
node test-connection.js

# Test remote Docker via TCP
DOCKER_HOST=tcp://192.168.1.100:2375 node test-connection.js

# Test remote Docker via TLS
DOCKER_HOST=https://192.168.1.100:2376 \
DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY=1 \
DOCKER_CERT_PATH=~/.docker/certs \
node test-connection.js

# Test SSH tunnel connection
DOCKER_HOST=tcp://localhost:2375 node test-connection.js

The test utility will:

• ✓ Validate your configuration
• ✓ Check TLS certificates (if applicable)
• ✓ Test connection to Docker daemon
• ✓ Verify Docker operations (list containers, images, networks, volumes)
• ✓ Display system information
• ✓ Provide troubleshooting recommendations

validate_connection Tool

Once the MCP server is running, you can also use the validate_connection tool from your AI assistant:

"Validate my Docker connection"

This tool performs runtime connectivity tests and returns:

• Connection status
• Docker version and API information
• System information
• Test results for common operations

Manual Testing

You can also test your connection directly with Docker CLI:

# Set environment variables
export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://192.168.1.100:2375

# Test commands
docker version
docker info
docker ps

For detailed setup instructions, troubleshooting, and platform-specific guides, see:

• CONFIGURATION.md - MCP server configuration examples
• REMOTE_SETUP.md - Comprehensive remote connection setup guide (includes Windows 11 specific instructions)

Available Tools (37 Total)

Container Operations (15 tools)

list_containers

List all Docker containers (running or all)

{
  "all": true
}

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README truncated. View full README on GitHub.