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Podman MCP Server

A powerful and flexible MCP server for container runtimes supporting Podman and Docker.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

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

You can run the Podman MCP Server to connect your container runtime with model-driven control and context-aware actions. It supports Podman and Docker runtimes, and you can run it locally or integrate it into desktop tools or CLI workflows to empower AI agents with MCP capabilities.

How to use

You use the Podman MCP Server by starting it as a local service and then connecting your MCP client to it. The server is designed to work with container runtimes like Podman, enabling AI agents to interact with your containers through the MCP protocol. Start the server using a package runner (like npx) and reference it from your client configuration. You can run the server in a local development environment or wire it into your existing MCP-enabled workflows.

How to install

Prerequisites: ensure you have Node.js and npm installed on your system.

Install and run the Podman MCP Server using the quickest method available with npm.

# Run the Podman MCP server using npx (in case you have npm installed)
npx podman-mcp-server@latest --help

If you are configuring Claude Desktop, add the MCP server to your Claude desktop configuration under the mcpServers section.

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

If you are using Goose CLI, add the MCP server to your Goose configuration under the mcpServers section.

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

Configuration notes and start options

The Podman MCP Server can be started from the command line to reveal help and available options. You can also run it from a downloaded release binary if you prefer not to use npx.

# Run the Podman MCP server using npx (in case you have npm installed)
npx podman-mcp-server@latest --help
```

```
# Run the Podman MCP server using the latest release binary
./podman-mcp-server --help

Configuration options include enabling Server-Sent Events (SSE) mode on a specific port using the --sse-port flag.

Additional usage notes

For development workflows, you can compile and inspect the MCP server with a dedicated inspector tool. Build the project, then run the inspector pointing at the Podman MCP server to observe its behavior.

# Compile the project
make build
# Run the Podman MCP server with mcp-inspector
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector@latest $(pwd)/podman-mcp-server

Available tools

mcp_inspector

Run the inspector to compile, inspect, and debug the MCP server behavior against the Podman MCP Server.