Enabling and Using the Docker MCP Toolkit: Installation and Configuration

Security at runtime is enforced through resource and access limitations: - CPU allocation: MCP tools are run in their own container. They are restricted to 1 CPU, limiting the impact of potential misuse of computing resources. - Memory allocation: Containers for MCP tools are limited to 2 GB. - Filesystem access: By default, MCP Servers have no access to the host filesystem. The user explicitly selects the servers that will be granted file mounts. - Interception of tool requests: Requests to and from tools that contain sensitive information such as secrets are blocked. ## Enable Docker MCP Toolkit 1. Open the Docker Desktop settings and select **Beta features**. 2. Select **Enable Docker MCP Toolkit**. 3. Select **Apply & restart**. >[!NOTE] >If you have the MCP Toolkit _extension_ installed, you can uninstall it. ## Install an MCP server To install an MCP server: 1. In Docker Desktop, select **MCP Toolkit** and select the **Catalog** tab. When you select a server you can see the following information: - Tool name and description - Partner/publisher - The list of callable tools the server provides. 2. Find the MCP server of your choice and select the **Plus** icon. 3. Optional: Some servers require extra configuration. To configure them, select the **Config** tab and follow the instructions available on the repository of the provider of the MCP server. > [!TIP] > By default, the Gordon [client](#install-an-mcp-client) is enabled, > which means Gordon can automatically interact with your MCP servers. To learn more about the MCP server catalog, see [Catalog](catalog.md). ### Example: Use the GitHub MCP server Imagine you want to enable Ask Gordon to interact with your GitHub account: 1. From the **MCP Toolkit** menu, select the **Catalog** tab and find the **GitHub Official** server and add it. 2. In the server's **Config** tab, insert your token generated from your [GitHub account](https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens). 3. In the **Clients** tab, ensure Gordon is connected. 4. From the **Ask Gordon** menu, you can now send requests related to your GitHub account, in accordance to the tools provided by the GitHub MCP server. To test it, ask Gordon: ```text What's my GitHub handle? ``` Make sure to allow Gordon to interact with GitHub by selecting **Always allow** in Gordon's answer. ## Install an MCP client When you have installed MCP servers, you can add clients to the MCP Toolkit. These clients can interact with the installed MCP servers, turning the MCP Toolkit into a gateway. To install a client: 1. In Docker Desktop, select **MCP Toolkit** and select the **Clients** tab. 2. Find the client of your choice and select **Connect**. Your client can now interact with the MCP Toolkit. ### Example: Use Claude Desktop as a client Imagine you have Claude Desktop installed, and you want to use the GitHub MCP server, and the Puppeteer MCP server, you do not have to install the servers in Claude Desktop. You can simply install these 2 MCP servers in the MCP Toolkit, and add Claude Desktop as a client: 1. From the **MCP Toolkit** menu, select the **Catalog** tab and find the **Puppeteer** server and add it. 2. Repeat for the **GitHub** server. 3. From the **Clients** tab, select **Connect** next to **Claude Desktop**. Restart Claude Desktop if it's running, and it can now access all the servers in the MCP Toolkit. 4. Within Claude Desktop, run a test by submitting the following prompt using the Sonnet 3.5 model: ```text Take a screenshot of docs.docker.com and then invert the colors ```

This section details how to enable the Docker MCP Toolkit, install MCP servers from the catalog (including configuring them with necessary credentials like GitHub tokens), and connect clients like Gordon or Claude Desktop to interact with these servers. Examples are provided for using the GitHub MCP server to interact with a GitHub account and using Claude Desktop to access and utilize the Puppeteer and GitHub MCP servers through the MCP Toolkit gateway.