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Docker MCP Gateway

by Docker

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Apache-2.0

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dockermcp-gatewaycontainerssecurityoauthdevops

Summary

Docker's official CLI plugin that runs MCP servers in isolated containers behind one gateway — secrets management, OAuth flows and a single config every client shares.

Features

Runs each MCP server in an isolated Docker container
One gateway endpoint shared by every MCP client, so configs cannot drift
Secrets held in Docker Desktop's secrets store, not environment variables
Built-in OAuth flows for servers that need real authorisation
Dynamic discovery of tools, prompts and resources
List, inspect and call tools across servers from the CLI
Logging and call tracing for what the agent actually invoked

Installation

Set up this MCP server in your favorite AI agent — copy a ready-made configuration below.

Any MCP-compatible agent

Most agents (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, and more) read a standard mcpServers configuration.

Open your agent's MCP configuration file.
Merge the snippet below into it.
Restart the agent — the "Docker MCP Gateway" tools will be available.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker-mcp-gateway": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "mcp",
        "gateway",
        "run"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Add the server with a single CLI command.

claude mcp add docker-mcp-gateway -- docker mcp gateway run

Claude Desktop

Add the server to claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "docker-mcp-gateway": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "mcp",
        "gateway",
        "run"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires Docker Desktop 4.59+ with the MCP Toolkit enabled, or the docker-mcp CLI plugin installed standalone.

{
  "command": "docker",
  "args": [
    "mcp",
    "gateway",
    "run"
  ]
}

Description

Running a handful of MCP servers is fine. Running twenty across four clients is where it falls apart: each server is an npx or uvx process with full user privileges, credentials end up as plaintext environment variables in a config file, and every client keeps its own drifting copy of the list. The Docker MCP Gateway — the docker-mcp CLI plugin that powers the MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop — is Docker's answer to that.

One gateway, many servers

Each server from the Docker MCP Catalog runs in its own isolated container, with npx and uvx servers granted minimal host privileges. Clients — VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop and others — connect to a single gateway rather than to each server, so they all see the same configuration and the same tool list.

Credentials and auth

Secrets are held in Docker Desktop's secrets management instead of environment variables, and the gateway implements OAuth flows for servers that need a real authorisation handshake rather than a static token.

Operations

Tools, prompts and resources are discovered dynamically as servers come up, so adding a server does not mean editing every client's JSON. The CLI can list servers and inspect or call their tools directly, and built-in logging and call tracing make it possible to see what an agent actually invoked.

Works inside Docker Desktop 4.59+ with the MCP Toolkit enabled, or standalone. Written in Go and developed in the open.

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