MCP server Official

Docker MCP Toolkit and MCP Gateway

Docker's MCP Toolkit and gateway: run catalog MCP servers in isolated containers and expose them to any client through one endpoint.

Author: Docker
Works with: Any MCP client, Claude Code, Cursor
License: MIT
Documented: Oct 2, 2026

Repository ↗ Official docs ↗

What Docker MCP Toolkit and MCP Gateway is

The Docker MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop lets developers configure and run MCP servers from the Docker MCP Catalog in profiles. It is powered by the docker-mcp CLI plugin, whose main feature is the Docker MCP Gateway that runs and routes to MCP servers running as containers. It can work in Docker Desktop or independently.

What it does

Where Docker MCP Toolkit and MCP Gateway runs and what it adds, from its documentation

Runs MCP servers from the Docker MCP Catalog as isolated containers
Groups servers into profiles that clients connect to
Serves clients over stdio or streaming through docker mcp gateway run
Manages secrets and OAuth flows for servers
Connects clients with docker mcp client connect --profile
Supports per-tool allowlists and Dynamic MCP to add servers during a conversation

When to use it

Good fit

Using many MCP servers from several clients with one shared configuration
Wanting container isolation and managed secrets for MCP servers
Sharing server sets as profiles via OCI registries

Not for

Setups without Docker (Docker Desktop 4.59+ with MCP Toolkit enabled, or the CLI plugin, is required)

How to install Docker MCP Toolkit and MCP Gateway

You need: Docker Desktop 4.59+ with MCP Toolkit enabled; Go 1.24+ only for building from source

Install Docker Desktop 4.59+ and enable the MCP Toolkit
Or build the plugin: git clone https://github.com/docker/mcp-gateway.git, then make docker-mcp
Create a profile: docker mcp profile create --name dev-tools --server catalog://mcp/docker-mcp-catalog/github
Connect a client: docker mcp client connect --profile dev-tools
Run the gateway: docker mcp gateway run --profile dev-tools

Configuration example (from the official docs)

"mcp" : { "servers" : { "MCP_DOCKER" : { "command" : "docker" , "args" : [ "mcp" , "gateway" , "run" , "--profile" , "my_profile" ], "type" : "stdio" } } }

Permissions and security

What it can access

Runs MCP servers as containers; by default they have no host filesystem access, only mounts you grant
Tool containers limited to 1 CPU and 2 GB memory

Security notes from the maintainers

Images under mcp/ in the catalog are built and signed by Docker with an SBOM
Secrets are kept in Docker Desktop secrets management, not environment variables
Requests carrying sensitive information such as secrets are blocked

Review the source before granting an agent access to credentials or production systems. We document what the maintainers state; we do not audit code.