FastMCP 3.5 control plane for Docker — containers, images, volumes, networks, Compose, daemon recovery, AI chat, backup/restore, image comparison, container analysis, and a React web dashboard.
- Download
docker-mcp-<version>-setup.exefrom the latest release. - Run it. Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the installer is not code-signed: choose More info > Run anyway.
- Open Docker MCP from the Start menu.
That installs the dashboard and the backend in one go. Nothing else to set up except Docker Desktop, which this controls.
Only want the Docker tools inside Claude? The .mcpb bundle registers the MCP server in Claude Desktop
but does not install the dashboard. Paste this to Claude:
Install the docker-mcp MCP extension: download
docker-mcp-<version>.mcpbfrom https://github.com/sandraschi/docker-mcp/releases/latest and open it with Claude Desktop.
More options (other IDEs, manual config, troubleshooting): INSTALL.md.
Developers: building from source, the justfile, tests and releasing are in docs/DEVELOPMENT.md.
- "List all running containers and show resource usage."
- "Deploy my compose stack and verify every service is healthy."
- "Compare nginx:1.25 and nginx:1.26 — what changed?"
- Dashboard → Run MCP tools → pick a tool → fill the form → Run.
- "Analyze container my-app — why is it restarting?"
- "Back up my database volume before the upgrade."
| Area | Highlights |
|---|---|
| Containers | CRUD, logs, stats, exec, inspect, health analysis, inline start/stop/restart |
| Images | List, pull (freshness check), build, tag, push, prune, search, compare, provenance, upstream brief |
| Compose | Projects, up/down, logs, config, YAML file analysis, repo-files preload |
| Reports | Global status + cleanup opportunities, Markdown/JSON export |
| Backup/Restore | save/load image, backup/restore volume, export compose |
| Docker Desktop | Status, hang detection, triple-kill recovery, restart |
| AI Chat | SSE streaming, tool execution cards, LLM provider discovery |
| Agentic | Deploy, cleanup, diagnose, rollback workflows |
| Prefab Cards | Containers, images, daemon status, system info |
| Web dashboard | Progressive overview (per-section loading, no global spinner), quick actions (Run MCP tools, Diagnose, Backup, Recover Docker), /tools runner, volumes, networks, compose, AI chat, reports with export |
| Doc | Contents |
|---|---|
| docs/TOOLS.md | Full MCP tool reference |
| docs/COMPOSE.md | Compose management & file analysis |
| docs/BACKUP.md | Docker backup & restore guide |
| docs/CHAT.md | AI chat & agentic workflows |
| docs/ARCHITECTURE.md | Stack, transport, REST API |
| docs/CONFIGURATION.md | Environment variables |
| docs/DEVELOPMENT.md | Build, just recipes, testing |
| docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md | Common issues |
- "Virtualization support not detected": a crash can reset the BIOS to
defaults and switch off SVM/VT-x. Check
Get-CimInstance Win32_Processor | Select-Object VirtualizationFirmwareEnabled, re-enable SVM Mode in firmware, then restart Docker Desktop. Full walkthrough: docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md.
Windows 10/11 and Docker Desktop (Docker Engine 20.10+). Building from source has its own prerequisites, listed in docs/DEVELOPMENT.md.
MIT