MCP Docker Server

Category	Status
Build & CI
Security
Package
Technology

A local Model Context Protocol server for Docker visibility and light lifecycle control.

12 tools | stdio transport only | no destructive Docker operations

Quick Start

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport stdio docker uvx mcp-docker@latest

Codex:

codex mcp add docker -- uvx mcp-docker@latest

Claude Desktop — add to claude_desktop_config.json:

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

The Docker socket is auto-detected for your OS. This package intentionally runs over stdio only; it is not a network-exposed Docker administration service.

Tools

Container

Tool	Description	Safety
`docker_list_containers`	List containers with filters	Safe
`docker_inspect_container`	Detailed container info	Safe
`docker_container_logs`	Get container logs	Safe
`docker_container_stats`	Resource usage stats	Safe
`docker_start_container`	Start container	Moderate
`docker_stop_container`	Stop container gracefully	Moderate
`docker_restart_container`	Restart container	Moderate

Image

Tool	Description	Safety
`docker_list_images`	List images	Safe
`docker_inspect_image`	Image details	Safe

Network

Tool	Description	Safety
`docker_list_networks`	List networks	Safe

Volume

Tool	Description	Safety
`docker_list_volumes`	List volumes	Safe

System

Tool	Description	Safety
`docker_version`	Docker version info	Safe

Safety

Safe tools are read-only and always allowed. Moderate tools are reversible lifecycle operations and are allowed by default.

# Read-only mode: list, inspect, logs, stats, version only
SAFETY_ALLOW_MODERATE_OPERATIONS=false

The package does not expose destructive tools such as remove, prune, build, push, or exec.

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
`DOCKER_BASE_URL`	Auto-detected	Docker daemon socket URL
`DOCKER_TIMEOUT`	`60`	Docker operation timeout in seconds
`SAFETY_ALLOW_MODERATE_OPERATIONS`	`true`	Allow reversible start/stop/restart tools
`SAFETY_DEFAULT_TOOL_TIMEOUT`	`30`	Tool timeout in seconds, `0` disables
`SAFETY_MAX_RESPONSE_BYTES`	`1048576`	Maximum tool response size, `0` disables
`MCP_LOG_LEVEL`	`INFO`	Logging level
`MCP_JSON_LOGGING`	`false`	Emit JSON logs
`MCP_DEBUG_MODE`	`false`	Show unsanitized errors for local debugging

Development

uv sync --group dev
uv run pytest tests/unit/ -v
uv run ruff check src/ tests/
uv run ruff format --check src/ tests/
uv run mypy src/mcp_docker/

Requirements

Python 3.11+
Docker 20.10+
Key dependencies: fastmcp, docker, pydantic, pydantic-settings, loguru

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

MCP Docker

README