The MCP Devcontainers server enables integration with the devcontainers CLI for managing development environments. You can:
Start or initialize devcontainer environments using devcontainer_up for a specified workspace
Run user-defined post-create and post-start commands with devcontainer_run_user_commands
Execute arbitrary shell commands inside the devcontainer context via devcontainer_exec
Provides integration with Docker through the devcontainers CLI, enabling tools to initialize, start, and execute commands within development containers for consistent development environments.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@MCP Devcontainers start the devcontainer in my current project folder"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
The MCP Devcontainers is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides a simple integration with the devcontainers cli.
This server requires Docker to be installed and running on your system, as it is used by the devcontainers cli to build and manage development containers.
No other dependencies are required to use the MCP Devcontainers server.
Related MCP server: Docker MCP Server
MCP servers are configured differently depending on the client that you are using. For reference, this is how you would configure it using Claude Desktop.
{
"mcpServers": {
"devcontainers": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@crunchloop/mcp-devcontainers"
]
}
}
}At the moment, only stdio transport has been implemented.
Tool | workspaceFolder | outputFilePath | Command | Description |
devcontainer_up | Path to the workspace folder (string, required) | Path to write output logs (string, optional) | N/A | Start or initialize a devcontainer environment in the specified workspace folder.Use this to ensure the devcontainer is running and ready for development tasks. |
devcontainer_run_user_commands | Path to the workspace folder (string, required) | Path to write output logs (string, optional) | N/A | Run the user-defined |
devcontainer_exec | Path to the workspace folder (string, required) | Path to write output logs (string, optional) | Command to execute (string[], required) | Execute an arbitrary shell command inside the devcontainer for the specified workspace folder.Use this to run custom commands or scripts within the devcontainer context. |
Released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for further details.
Execute an arbitrary shell command inside the devcontainer for the specified workspace folder.Use this to run custom commands or scripts within the devcontainer context.
Inputs: workspaceFolder (required), command (required), outputFilePath.
Run the user-defined postCreateCommand and postStartCommand scripts in the devcontainerfor the specified workspace folder. Use this to execute setup or initialization commandsafter the devcontainer starts.
Inputs: workspaceFolder (required), outputFilePath.
Start or initialize a devcontainer environment in the specified workspace folder.Use this to ensure the devcontainer is running and ready for development tasks.
Inputs: workspaceFolder (required), outputFilePath.
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
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Scored across 3 tools
Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: starting the devcontainer, executing arbitrary commands, and running user-defined lifecycle scripts. No overlapping functionality.
All tools follow the 'devcontainer_verb' pattern in snake_case (exec, run_user_commands, up). Naming is consistent and predictable.
With 3 tools, the server is lean but covers core devcontainer operations. Could be slightly more comprehensive but appropriate for a focused utility.
The tool set covers starting, executing commands, and running lifecycle scripts, but misses common operations like stopping, rebuilding, or checking status, which are notable gaps.
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