Container Manager Mcp

Container Manager Mcp

CLI or API | MCP | Agent

Version: 2.0.1

> Documentation — Installation, deployment, usage across the API, CLI, MCP, and > A2A agent interfaces, and the multi-host control plane are maintained in the > official documentation.

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Overview

Container Manager Mcp is a production-grade Agent and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed to interface directly with Container Manager - manage Docker, Docker Swarm, and Podman containers. MCP+A2A Servers Out of the Box!.

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Key Features

• Consolidated Action-Routed MCP Tools: Minimizes token overhead and eliminates tool bloat in LLM contexts by grouping methods into optimized, togglable tool modules.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: Comprehensive support for Eunomia policies, OIDC token delegation, and granular execution context tracking.
• Integrated Graph Agent: Built-in Pydantic AI agent supporting the Agent Control Protocol (ACP) and standard Web interfaces (AG-UI).
• Native Telemetry & Tracing: Out-of-the-box OpenTelemetry exports and native Langfuse tracing.

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Multi-Host & Zero-Script Remote Docker Orchestration

container-manager-mcp allows a single master instance of the MCP server on your controller to route container and volume operations securely to remote hosts over SSH standard tunneling.

• Unified Inventory: Connection endpoints are loaded dynamically from the XDG shared inventory at ~/.config/agent-utilities/inventory.yml (.yml preferred; a legacy inventory.yaml is still read when no .yml exists).
• Zero TCP Socket Exposure: Operations route directly over the standard SSH channel securely, removing the need to expose Docker socket TCP ports.

> Shared inventory: the cm_* host aliases you pass as host come from the same > inventory.yml used by tunnel-manager — define your fleet once. Create and validate > it with tunnel-manager inventory init / tunnel-manager inventory doctor. See > tunnel-manager's Inventory guide > for the full schema, template, and override options.

To configure and utilize the multi-host remote routing, see the detailed [Multi-Host Architecture Guide](docs/multi_host.md).

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CLI or API

This agent wraps the Container Manager - manage Docker, Docker Swarm, and Podman containers. MCP+A2A Servers Out of the Box! API. You can interact with it programmatically or via its integrated execution entrypoints.

Detailed instructions on how to use the underlying API wrappers, extended schema bindings, and developer SDK references are maintained in [docs/index.md](docs/index.md).

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MCP

This server utilizes dynamic Action-Routed tools to optimize token overhead and maximize IDE compatibility.

Available MCP Tools

Auto-generated — do not edit (synced by the mcp-readme-table pre-commit hook).

Condensed action-routed tools (default — MCP_TOOL_MODE=condensed)

| MCP Tool | Toggle Env Var | Description | |----------|----------------|-------------| | cm_compose_operations | COMPOSETOOL | Manage docker-compose or podman-compose operations. | | cm_container_operations | CONTAINERTOOL | Manage container operations. | | cm_image_operations | IMAGETOOL | Manage container images. | | cm_info_operations | INFOTOOL | Manage container manager info operations. | | cm_list_hosts | INVENTORYTOOL | List the host aliases you can pass as `host to any cm_* operation | | cmnetworkoperations | NETWORKTOOL | Manage network operations. | | cmswarmoperations | SWARMTOOL | Manage swarm operations. | | cmsystemoperations | SYSTEMTOOL | Manage container manager system operations. | | cmvolumeoperations | VOLUMETOOL | Manage volume operations. | | traceportnamespace | MISCTOOL` | Locate the container actively using/mapping the specified port on the target host. |

10 action-routed tool(s) (default) · 0 verbose 1:1 tool(s). Each is enabled unless its TOOL toggle is set false; MCP_TOOL_MODE selects the surface (condensed default · verbose 1:1 · both). Auto-generated — do not edit.

Detailed tool schemas, parameter shapes, and validation constraints are preserved in [docs/mcp.md](docs/mcp.md).

Dynamic Tool Selection & Visibility

This MCP server supports dynamic toolset selection and visibility filtering at runtime. This allows you to restrict the set of exposed tools in order to prevent blowing up the LLM's context window.

You can configure tool filtering via multiple input channels:

• CLI Arguments: Pass --tools or --toolsets (or their disabled counterparts --disabled-tools and --disabled-toolsets) during startup.
• Environment Variables: Define standard environment variables:
• MCP_ENABLED_TOOLS / MCP_DISABLED_TOOLS
• MCP_ENABLED_TAGS / MCP_DISABLED_TAGS
• HTTP SSE Request Headers: Pass custom headers during transport initialization:
• x-mcp-enabled-tools / x-mcp-disabled-tools
• x-mcp-enabled-tags / x-mcp-disabled-tags
• HTTP SSE Request Query Parameters: Append query parameters directly to your transport connection URL:
• ?tools=tool1,tool2
• ?tags=tag1

When query strings or parameters are supplied, an LLM-free Knowledge Graph resolution layer (using DynamicToolOrchestrator) matches query intents against known tool tags, names, or descriptions, with safe fallback and automated 24-hour background cache refreshing.

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MCP Configuration Examples

> Install the slim [mcp] extra. All examples install container-manager-mcp[mcp] — the > MCP-server extra that pulls only the FastMCP / FastAPI tooling (agent-utilities[mcp]). > It deliberately excludes the heavy agent runtime (pydantic-ai, the epistemic-graph > engine, dspy, llama-index), so uvx / container installs are far smaller. Use the > full [agent] extra only when you need the integrated Pydantic AI agent.

stdio Transport (local IDEs — Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "container-manager-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "container-manager-mcp[mcp]",
        "container-manager-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "MCP_TOOL_MODE": "condensed",
        "COMPOSETOOL": "True",
        "CONTAINERTOOL": "True",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_HOST": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_KUBECONTEXT": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_PODMAN_BASE_URL": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_TYPE": "docker",
        "IMAGETOOL": "True",
        "INFOTOOL": "True",
        "INVENTORYTOOL": "True",
        "KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST": "",
        "MISCTOOL": "True",
        "NETWORKTOOL": "True",
        "SPECIALIST_DEPLOYMENTTOOL": "True",
        "SWARMTOOL": "True",
        "SYSTEMTOOL": "True",
        "VOLUMETOOL": "True"
      }
    }
  }
}

Streamable-HTTP Transport (networked / production)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "container-manager-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "container-manager-mcp[mcp]",
        "container-manager-mcp",
        "--transport",
        "streamable-http",
        "--port",
        "8000"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TRANSPORT": "streamable-http",
        "HOST": "0.0.0.0",
        "PORT": "8000",
        "MCP_TOOL_MODE": "condensed",
        "COMPOSETOOL": "True",
        "CONTAINERTOOL": "True",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_HOST": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_KUBECONTEXT": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_PODMAN_BASE_URL": "",
        "CONTAINER_MANAGER_TYPE": "docker",
        "IMAGETOOL": "True",
        "INFOTOOL": "True",
        "INVENTORYTOOL": "True",
        "KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST": "",
        "MISCTOOL": "True",
        "NETWORKTOOL": "True",
        "SPECIALIST_DEPLOYMENTTOOL": "True",
        "SWARMTOOL": "True",
        "SYSTEMTOOL": "True",
        "VOLUMETOOL": "True"
      }
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, connect to a pre-deployed Streamable-HTTP instance by url:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "container-manager-mcp": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8000/container-manager-mcp/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Deploying the Streamable-HTTP server via Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name container-manager-mcp-mcp \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -e TRANSPORT=streamable-http \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e PORT=8000 \
  -e MCP_TOOL_MODE=condensed \
  -e COMPOSETOOL=True \
  -e CONTAINERTOOL=True \
  -e CONTAINER_MANAGER_HOST="" \
  -e CONTAINER_MANAGER_KUBECONTEXT="" \
  -e CONTAINER_MANAGER_PODMAN_BASE_URL="" \
  -e CONTAINER_MANAGER_TYPE=docker \
  -e IMAGETOOL=True \
  -e INFOTOOL=True \
  -e INVENTORYTOOL=True \
  -e KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST="" \
  -e MISCTOOL=True \
  -e NETWORKTOOL=True \
  -e SPECIALIST_DEPLOYMENTTOOL=True \
  -e SWARMTOOL=True \
  -e SYSTEMTOOL=True \
  -e VOLUMETOOL=True \
  knucklessg1/container-manager-mcp:mcp

Auto-generated from the code-read env surface (MCP_TOOL_MODE + package vars) — do not edit.

Additional Deployment Options

container-manager-mcp can also run as a local container (Docker / Podman / uv) or be consumed from a remote deployment. The Deployment guide has full, copy-paste mcp_config.json for all four transports — stdio, streamable-http, local container / uv, and remote URL:

• Local container / uv — launch the server from mcp_config.json via uvx,

docker run, or podman run, or point at a local streamable-http container by url.

• Remote URL — connect to a server deployed behind Caddy at

http://container-manager-mcp.arpa/mcp using the "url" key.

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Environment Variables

Package environment variables

| Variable | Example | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | HOST | 0.0.0.0 | | | PORT | 8000 | | | TRANSPORT | stdio | options: stdio, streamable-http, sse | | ENABLE_OTEL | True | | | OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT | http://localhost:8080/api/public/otel | | | OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PUBLIC_KEY | pk-... | | | OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_SECRET_KEY | sk-... | | | OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL | http/protobuf | | | EUNOMIA_TYPE | none | options: none, embedded, remote | | EUNOMIA_POLICY_FILE | mcp_policies.json | | | EUNOMIA_REMOTE_URL | http://eunomia-server:8000 | | | CONTAINER_MANAGER_TYPE | docker | options: docker, podman, swarm, kubernetes | | CONTAINER_MANAGER_HOST | — | remote docker daemon host (e.g. tcp://host:2375); empty = local | | CONTAINER_MANAGER_PODMAN_BASE_URL | — | podman service base URL (e.g. unix:///run/podman/podman.sock) | | CONTAINER_MANAGER_KUBECONTEXT | — | kubeconfig context name; empty = current-context | | KUBERNETES_SERVICE_HOST | — | injected by the cluster when running in-pod; leave empty | | INVENTORYTOOL | True | | | INFOTOOL | True | | | IMAGETOOL | True | | | CONTAINERTOOL | True | | | VOLUMETOOL | True | | | NETWORKTOOL | True | | | SWARMTOOL | True | | | SYSTEMTOOL | True | | | COMPOSETOOL | True | | | MISCTOOL | True | | | SPECIALIST_DEPLOYMENTTOOL | True | |

Inherited agent-utilities variables (apply to every connector)

| Variable | Example | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | MCP_TOOL_MODE | condensed | Tool surface: condensed | verbose | both | | MCP_ENABLED_TOOLS | — | Comma-separated tool allow-list | | MCP_DISABLED_TOOLS | — | Comma-separated tool deny-list | | MCP_ENABLED_TAGS | — | Comma-separated tag allow-list | | MCP_DISABLED_TAGS | — | Comma-separated tag deny-list | | MCP_CLIENT_AUTH | — | Outbound MCP auth (oidc-client-credentials for fleet calls) | | OIDC_CLIENT_ID | — | OIDC client id (service-account auth) | | OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET | — | OIDC client secret (service-account auth) | | DEBUG | False | Verbose logging | | PYTHONUNBUFFERED | 1 | Unbuffered stdout (recommended in containers) | | MCP_URL | http://localhost:8000/mcp | URL of the MCP server the agent connects to | | PROVIDER | openai | LLM provider for the agent | | MODEL_ID | gpt-4o | Model id for the agent | | ENABLE_WEB_UI | True | Serve the AG-UI web interface |

27 package + 14 inherited variable(s). Auto-generated from .env.example + the shared agent-utilities set — do not edit.

Every variable is listed in the auto-generated table above (package vars from .env.example + the inherited agent-utilities surface). A few pointers:

• Tool toggles — each action-routed tool can be disabled via its TOOL

toggle; the tool ↔ toggle mapping is in the [Available MCP Tools](#available-mcp-tools) table above.

• Multi-host control plane — remote host endpoints load from the XDG shared inventory

~/.config/agent-utilities/inventory.yml (.yml preferred, .yaml legacy fallback), managed via tunnel-manager inventory init|doctor (see [Multi-Host guide](docs/multi_host.md)).

See [.env.example](.env.example) for a copy-paste starting point.

Agent

This repository features a fully integrated Pydantic AI Graph Agent. It communicates over the Agent Control Protocol (ACP) and interacts seamlessly with the Agent Web UI (AG-UI) and Terminal interface.

Running the Agent CLI

To start the interactive command-line agent:

# Run the agent server
container-manager-agent --provider openai --model-id gpt-4o

Docker Compose Orchestration

The following docker/agent.compose.yml configures the Agent, Web UI, and Terminal Interface together:

version: '3.8'

services:
  container-manager-mcp-mcp:
    image: knucklessg1/container-manager-mcp:mcp
    container_name: container-manager-mcp-mcp
    hostname: container-manager-mcp-mcp
    restart: always
    env_file:
      - ../.env
    environment:
      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
      - HOST=0.0.0.0
      - PORT=8000
      - TRANSPORT=streamable-http
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "python3", "-c", "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:8000/health')"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s
    logging:
      driver: json-file
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"

  container-manager-mcp-agent:
    image: knucklessg1/container-manager-mcp:latest
    container_name: container-manager-mcp-agent
    hostname: container-manager-mcp-agent
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - container-manager-mcp-mcp
    env_file:
      - ../.env
    command: [ "container-manager-agent" ]
    environment:
      - PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1
      - HOST=0.0.0.0
      - PORT=9019
      - MCP_URL=http://container-manager-mcp-mcp:8000/mcp
      - PROVIDER=${PROVIDER:-openai}
      - MODEL_ID=${MODEL_ID:-gpt-4o}
      - ENABLE_WEB_UI=True
      - ENABLE_OTEL=True
    ports:
      - "9019:9019"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "python3", "-c", "import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://localhost:9019/health')"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s
    logging:
      driver: json-file
      options:
        max-size: "10m"
        max-file: "3"

Detailed graph node architecture explanations, custom skill configurations, and agentic trace guides are available in [docs/agent.md](docs/agent.md).

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Security & Governance

Built directly upon the enterprise-ready agent-utilities core, standard security parameters are fully supported:

Access Control & Policy Enforcement

• Eunomia Policies: Fine-grained, policy-driven tool authorization. Supports none, local embedded (mcp_policies.json), or centralized remote modes.
• OIDC Token Delegation: Compliant with RFC 8693 token exchange for flowing authenticating user credentials from Web UI / ACP → Agent → MCP.
• **Scoped Cr

…

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Knuckles-Team
• Source: Knuckles-Team/container-manager-mcp
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.