Skip to content

bug: DOCKER_HOST environment variable is ignored in Rootless Docker mode #21

Description

@taker1974

Description

The Docker MCP server fails to connect to the Docker daemon in Rootless mode because it strictly expects the socket at /var/run/docker.sock, ignoring the DOCKER_HOST environment variable.

Environment

  • Docker Mode: Rootless
  • DOCKER_HOST: unix:///run/user/1000/docker.sock
  • MCP Host: Cursor / npx

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Run the server in a Rootless Docker environment where the socket is located at $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/docker.sock.
  2. Provide DOCKER_HOST via the env block in mcp.json or via shell.
  3. The server fails with: Error: connect ENOENT /var/run/docker.sock.

Expected Behavior

The server should respect the DOCKER_HOST environment variable or provide a configuration flag (e.g., --socketPath) to specify a custom socket location.

Actual Behavior

The server hardcodes the connection to /var/run/docker.sock, making it unusable in Rootless environments without root-level symlinks.

Activity

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Projects

    No projects

      Milestone

      No milestone

      Relationships

      None yet

      Development

      No branches or pull requests

      Issue actions