Devcontainers

The Devcontainers MCP Server lets you manage and run development containers directly from the MCP framework. It provides a simple, local int​e​gration that works with the devcontainers CLI to start, configure, and execute commands inside containers for your workspace.

How to use

You integrate this server with your MCP client to control development containers from your workspace. Use the client to start a devcontainer, run setup commands after creation, and execute arbitrary commands inside the running container. The transport method used is stdio, so the server communicates locally through standard input and output streams. No remote network configuration is required for typical use.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before you begin:

• Docker must be installed and running on your system.

Configuration and usage example

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "devcontainers": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@crunchloop/mcp-devcontainers"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Notes

Only the stdio transport is implemented at this time, so you will run the server locally and connect via standard input/output streams.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues starting the devcontainer, ensure Docker is running and that your MCP client is configured to use the stdio-based server entry shown above.

Available tools

devcontainer_up

Start or initialize a devcontainer environment in the specified workspace folder to ensure the devcontainer is running and ready for development tasks.

devcontainer_run_user_commands

Run the user-defined postCreateCommand and postStartCommand scripts inside the devcontainer for the specified workspace folder to complete setup after the container starts.

devcontainer_exec

Execute an arbitrary shell command inside the devcontainer for the specified workspace folder to run custom commands or scripts within the container context.