Does Docker Desktop need to be running?

Yes, Docker Desktop or the Docker daemon must be running locally.

Docker MCP Server Config Template & Example

Target Standard & File Format

Select runtime specification

AI Agent Rules & Skills

Context Shields & Privacy (Ignore Files)

Integrations & Machine Documentation

AI Governance & Multi-Agent Planning Suite

MCP Server

Valid

Server key

Command

Arguments one per line

Env variable optional

Value

Draft rules from your Docker setup

Paste docker-compose.yml or a Dockerfile.

Valid for Claude Code (.mcp.json) and Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json).

claude_desktop_config.json12 lines

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-docker"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Click or focus to edit

JSON•UTF-8•12 Lines•Spaces: 2

Target File Location

Project Placement

Save as .mcp.json in project root for Claude Code, or merge its mcpServers block into Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json.

What's in the ZIP export (20 files)

Unzip into your project root. Every file is already in the folder its tool reads from.

Include extras: Claude Code subagent, Gemini CLI, Aider, Copilot and Kiro scoped rules, CI audit workflow

.claude/settings.json
.claude/skills/codebase-auditor/SKILL.md
.claude/skills/codebase-auditor/scripts/verify.sh
.claudeignore
.cursor/rules/codebase-auditor.mdc
.cursorignore
.github/copilot-instructions.md
.mcp.json (open in editor)
.windsurf/rules/codebase-auditor.md
AGENTS.md
ARCHITECTURE.md
CLAUDE.md
DESIGN.md
MEMORY.md
PRD.md
README.md
TASK.md
llms.txt
prompts/gemini-system-instructions.json
prompts/openai-custom-instructions.md

What this file changes for Docker Engine MCP

Without it

Allows AI assistants to list containers, inspect Docker images, view container logs, and troubleshoot local services directly.

What the file tells the agent

Connects to local Docker socket (`/var/run/docker.sock` or Windows named pipe).

Inspects active container states, environment variables, and log streams.

Helps diagnose container crashes and service startup failures.

How to Install Docker Engine MCP Model Context Protocol (MCP) via Terminal

Step 1: Open Project Directory & Verify Target Placement

Open your terminal and navigate to your project root folder where the claude_desktop_config.json file will reside. Ensure the file is placed at the exact path below relative to your project root so the AI engine automatically loads it:

claude_desktop_config.json

Step 2: Fetch Rule File via Terminal Command

Run curl, PowerShell, or wget to stream the rule directly from the DevScratchpad raw API endpoint and write it to claude_desktop_config.json:

Terminal One-Liner Install

Run directly in your project root to stream and write this rule file with one command.

Raw API Stream

$curl -fsSL "https://www.devscratchpad.tech/api/raw/mcp-config/docker" -o "claude_desktop_config.json"

Step 3: Check that Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor uses it

Restart the client so it starts the server. Claude Code asks you to approve servers from .mcp.json; run /mcp to check their status.

Target Standard & File Format

MCP Server

Target File Location

Docker MCP Server Config Generator

What this file changes for Docker Engine MCP

How to Install Docker Engine MCP Model Context Protocol (MCP) via Terminal

Step 1: Open Project Directory & Verify Target Placement

Step 2: Fetch Rule File via Terminal Command

Terminal One-Liner Install

Step 3: Check that Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor uses it

MCP config generator: .mcp.json for Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor

Tools for Docker Engine MCP work

YAML to JSON / JSON to YAML Converter

Cron Expression Visualizer

CIDR Calculator & Subnet Inspector

Base64 / Hex / Binary Multi-Inspector & Image Previewer

Live Repository & Schema Ingestion

Migrating from Legacy .cursorrules or CLAUDE.md?

Technical FAQ: Docker Engine MCP AI Rulebooks

Does Docker Desktop need to be running?