Docker Container Manager MCP Server

An MCP server that gives any LLM client the ability to list, inspect, start, stop, and monitor Docker containers on the host machine — putting your entire container stack at your AI assistant's fingertips.

Overview

This server wraps the Docker SDK for Python using FastMCP, exposing container management operations as tools any MCP-compatible client can call. Connect it to Claude Desktop and you can ask Claude to check container health, fetch logs, inspect configuration, or monitor live CPU and memory usage — all from a single conversation.

The server connects to the Docker daemon via the Unix socket on startup, verifies connectivity with a ping, and shares the client across all tool calls via FastMCP's lifespan context. No tokens required — just a running Docker daemon.

Related MCP server: dockhand

Tools

Project Structure

docker-manager-mcp/
├── server.py          # FastMCP instance, lifespan, tool registration
├── config.py          # Environment variables and constants
├── tools/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── containers.py  # list, start, stop, logs, inspect
│   └── stats.py       # get_container_stats with accurate CPU/memory calculation
├── .env               # Optional overrides
├── .env.example       # Template
├── requirements.txt
├── Dockerfile
└── README.md

Requirements

• Python 3.11+

• uv

• Docker running on the host machine

• Your user in the docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Festuskipkoech/docker-manager-mcp.git
cd docker-manager-mcp

2. Install dependencies:

uv sync

3. Configure your environment (optional):

cp .env.example .env

The defaults work out of the box on Linux and macOS. No tokens or credentials needed.

DOCKER_HOST=unix:///var/run/docker.sock
DEFAULT_LOG_LINES=50
DEFAULT_STOP_TIMEOUT=10

Running Locally

uv run python server.py

Or with the FastMCP CLI on Streamable HTTP transport:

fastmcp run server.py:mcp --transport streamable-http

Testing with MCP Inspector

Start the server in one terminal:

fastmcp run server.py:mcp --transport streamable-http

Launch the Inspector in a second terminal:

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

In the Inspector UI:

• Transport: Streamable HTTP

• URL: http://127.0.0.1:8000/mcp

• Click Connect

Recommended test sequence:

Using with Claude Desktop

Add the following to ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker-manager": {
      "command": "/home/your-user/.local/bin/uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/docker-manager-mcp",
        "python",
        "server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Use the full path to uv (find it with which uv). Restart Claude Desktop after saving, then try:

List all my running Docker containers and show me their status and ports

Claude calls list_containers and returns your full container stack:

Inspect a container and check live resource usage:

Inspect the prepwise_postgres container and show me its CPU and memory usage

Running with Docker

When running the server itself inside a container, mount the Docker socket so it can reach the host daemon:

docker build -t docker-manager-mcp .
docker run -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -p 8000:8000 docker-manager-mcp

Troubleshooting