How to use the Docker MCP server

Before configuring the MCP server, make sure Docker is installed and the daemon is running. Open a terminal and run 'docker ps' to verify. If you see a list of containers (or an empty list), Docker is working. If you get a connection error, start Docker Desktop or the Docker service first.

1# Verify Docker is running:
2docker ps
3
4# Expected output (even if no containers):
5# CONTAINER ID   IMAGE   COMMAND   CREATED   STATUS   PORTS   NAMES

Open your MCP host's configuration file and add a docker entry. The Docker MCP server connects to the Docker daemon socket on your machine. The configuration uses npx with the -y flag for automatic installation.

1{
2  "mcpServers": {
3    "docker": {
4      "command": "npx",
5      "args": [
6        "-y",
7        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-docker"
8      ]
9    }
10  }
11}

Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code. The Docker MCP server will connect to your local Docker daemon. Its tools for container, image, volume, and network management should appear in the available tools list.

Start with read-only operations to verify the connection. Ask the AI to list your running containers, inspect specific containers, or show resource usage. The AI translates your natural language requests into Docker API calls.

1Example prompts:
2
3"List all running Docker containers with their ports and status"
4
5"Show me the configuration of the postgres container"
6
7"What Docker images are currently downloaded on my machine?"

One of the most valuable use cases is debugging. Ask the AI to check container logs for errors, inspect environment variables, or investigate why a container is failing. The AI can read logs, parse error messages, and suggest fixes — all through natural language.

1Example prompts:
2
3"Show me the last 50 lines of logs from the api-server container"
4
5"Check if the redis container has any error messages in its logs"
6
7"Why is the postgres container restarting? Show me its logs and exit code"

The AI can start, stop, restart, and remove containers. It can also pull images, create containers from images, and manage Docker Compose stacks. Always review the action in Claude Desktop's approval dialog before confirming, especially for destructive operations like removing containers or volumes.

1Example prompts:
2
3"Stop the old-api container and remove it"
4
5"Restart the postgres container"
6
7"Pull the latest nginx:alpine image and create a new container running on port 8080"