Podman MCP server

Podman MCP Server is a flexible server implementation of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) that supports container runtimes like Podman and Docker. It allows AI tools and models to interact with containers on your system through a standardized interface.

Installation Options

For Claude Desktop

You can quickly set up the Podman MCP server with Claude Desktop using npx:

1. Open your claude_desktop_config.json file
2. Add the MCP server to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "podman": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "podman-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For VS Code

You can install the Podman MCP server extension in VS Code by running this command:

# For VS Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"podman","command":"npx","args":["podman-mcp-server@latest"]}'

# For VS Code Insiders
code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"podman","command":"npx","args":["podman-mcp-server@latest"]}'

For Goose CLI

If you're using Goose CLI (an AI agent command-line tool), you can add the MCP server to your configuration:

1. Open your Goose config.yaml file
2. Add the following to the configuration:

extensions:
  podman:
    command: npx
    args:
      - -y
      - podman-mcp-server@latest

Usage and Configuration

The Podman MCP server can be configured using command line arguments. You can run it either using npx or by downloading the latest release binary.

Using npx

npx podman-mcp-server@latest --help

Using the binary

./podman-mcp-server --help

Available Options

For example, to start the server in SSE mode on port 3000:

npx podman-mcp-server@latest --sse-port 3000

Once configured, compatible AI tools like Claude Desktop, VS Code, or Goose CLI will be able to interact with container functionality through the Podman MCP server.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.