Docker MCP

Personal note: Keep in mind that all AIs are essentially retarded geniuses. Refactor instructions as needed if your child acts up.

Remote Docker management over SSH — exposed as a local MCP server for GitHub Copilot sessions.

No server-side component required. The MCP runs locally and SSHes into the remote host to execute Docker commands.

Tools

Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone git@github.com:Isak-Landin/mcp-docker-engine.git ~/mcp-docker-engine
cd ~/mcp-docker-engine

2. Install dependencies

sudo apt install python3.12-venv
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Configure SSH target

cp config.example.json config.json
# Edit config.json with your server details

config.json fields:

{
  "host": "your-server.example.com",
  "user": "ubuntu",
  "key_path": "~/.ssh/id_rsa",
  "port": 22
}

4. Verify SSH access

Using the values from your config.json:

ssh -i <key_path> <user>@<host> docker ps

5. Register with GitHub Copilot

Copilot CLI — mcp-config.json

Add the docker-mcp entry to the mcpServers object in your Copilot home's mcp-config.json:

"docker-mcp": {
  "command": "/home/<your-username>/mcp-docker-engine/.venv/bin/python3",
  "args": ["/home/<your-username>/mcp-docker-engine/server.py"]
}

VS Code — .vscode/mcp.json

Add the docker-mcp entry to the servers object:

"docker-mcp": {
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "/home/<your-username>/mcp-docker-engine/.venv/bin/python3",
  "args": ["/home/<your-username>/mcp-docker-engine/server.py"]
}

Copilot instructions — copilot-instructions.md

Add the contents of copilot-instructions.md to your Copilot home's copilot-instructions.md or instructions.md.

Notes

• The SSH connection uses StrictHostKeyChecking=accept-new - safe for known hosts, will warn on key changes.

• docker_build and docker_pull use a 5-10 min timeout; adjust timeout in server.py if needed.

• For Compose tools, project_dir is the remote path containing docker-compose.yml.

• docker_logs and docker_exec redirect stderr to stdout so output is always captured.