Podman MCP Server
About
Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for container runtimes (Podman and Docker)
Details
- License
- Apache-2.0
Explore
A powerful and flexible MCP server for container runtimes supporting Podman and Docker.
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
Podman MCP ServerCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
The Podman MCP server can be configured using command line (CLI) arguments.
You can run the CLI executable either by using npx or by downloading the latest release binary.
npx podman-mcp-server@latest --help
| Option | Description |
|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| --port, -p | Starts the MCP server in HTTP mode with Streamable HTTP at /mcp and SSE at /sse endpoints. |
| --output-format, -o| Output format for list commands: text (default, human-readable table) or json. |
| --podman-impl | Podman implementation to use. Auto-detects if not specified. |
| --sse-port | Deprecated. Use --port instead. Starts the MCP server in SSE-only mode. |
| --sse-base-url | Deprecated. SSE public base URL to use when sending the endpoint message. |
Compile the project and run the Podman MCP server with mcp-inspector to inspect the MCP server.
name
(`string`) **(required)** - Docker or Podman container ID or name to display the information
environment
(`array`) - Environment variables to set in the container. Format: <key>=<value>. Example: FOO=bar. (Optional, add only to set environment variables)
imageName
(`string`) **(required)** - Docker or Podman container image name to run
ports
(`array`) - Port mappings to expose on the host. Format: <hostPort>:<containerPort>. Example: 8080:80. (Optional, add only to expose ports)
containerFile
(`string`) **(required)** - The absolute path to the Dockerfile, Podmanfile, or Containerfile to build the image from
<!-- AVAILABLE-TOOLS-START -->
<details>
<summary>Container</summary>
- container_inspect - Displays the low-level information and configuration of a Docker or Podman container with the specified container ID or name
- name (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container ID or name to display the information
- container_list - Prints out information about the running Docker or Podman containers
- container_logs - Displays the logs of a Docker or Podman container with the specified container ID or name
- name (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container ID or name to display the logs
- container_remove - Removes a Docker or Podman container with the specified container ID or name (rm)
- name (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container ID or name to remove
- container_run - Runs a Docker or Podman container with the specified image name
- environment (array) - Environment variables to set in the container. Format: <key>=<value>. Example: FOO=bar. (Optional, add only to set environment variables)
- imageName (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container image name to run
- ports (array) - Port mappings to expose on the host. Format: <hostPort>:<containerPort>. Example: 8080:80. (Optional, add only to expose ports)
- container_stop - Stops a Docker or Podman running container with the specified container ID or name
- name (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container ID or name to stop
</details>
<details>
<summary>Image</summary>
- image_build - Build a Docker or Podman image from a Dockerfile, Podmanfile, or Containerfile
- containerFile (string) (required) - The absolute path to the Dockerfile, Podmanfile, or Containerfile to build the image from
- imageName (string) - Specifies the name which is assigned to the resulting image if the build process completes successfully (--tag, -t)
- image_list - List the Docker or Podman images on the local machine
- image_pull - Copies (pulls) a Docker or Podman container image from a registry onto the local machine storage
- imageName (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container image name to pull
- image_push - Pushes a Docker or Podman container image, manifest list or image index from local machine storage to a registry
- imageName (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container image name to push
- image_remove - Removes a Docker or Podman image from the local machine storage
- imageName (string) (required) - Docker or Podman container image name to remove
</details>
<details>
<summary>Network</summary>
- network_list - List all the available Docker or Podman networks
</details>
<details>
<summary>Volume</summary>
- volume_list - List all the available Docker or Podman volumes
</details>
<!-- AVAILABLE-TOOLS-END -->
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"podman mcp server": {
"podman-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"podman-mcp-server@latest",
"--help"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"podman-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"podman-mcp-server@latest",
"--help"
]
}
}
✨ Features | 🚀 Getting Started | 📚 Documentation | 🎥 Demos | ⚙️ Configuration | 🛠️ Tools | 🧑💻 Development
✨ Features <a id="features"></a>
A powerful and flexible MCP server for container runtimes supporting Podman and Docker.
🚀 Getting Started <a id="getting-started"></a>
Claude Desktop
Using npx
If you have npm installed, this is the fastest way to get started with podman-mcp-server on Claude Desktop.
Open your claude_desktop_config.json and add the mcp server to the list of mcpServers:
``` json
{
"mcpServers": {
"podman": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"podman-mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}
VS Code / VS Code Insiders
Install the Podman MCP server by clicking one of the following links:
Alternatively, you can install the extension manually by running the following command:
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