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MCP Podman

Official registry Other

MCP server for Podman container management via the Podman REST API

Source code Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

PYPI package mcp-podman-crunchtools
Claude Code 
claude mcp add mcp-podman -- uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools==0.1.1
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-podman": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-podman-crunchtools==0.1.1"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. mcp-podman-crunchtools
  2. Installation
  3. Configuration
  4. Claude Code Integration
  5. Tools (30)
  6. License

mcp-podman-crunchtools

MCP server for Podman container management via the Podman REST API. Manages containers, images, pods, networks, volumes, and system info. Supports both rootful and rootless Podman.

Installation

# uvx (zero-install)
uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools

# pip
pip install mcp-podman-crunchtools

# Container
podman run -v /run/podman/podman.sock:/run/podman/podman.sock:z \
  --security-opt label=type:container_runtime_t \
  quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-podman

Configuration

VariableRequiredDefaultDescription
PODMAN_SOCKETNoAuto-detectUnix socket path
PODMAN_SOCKET_FILENo—File containing socket path
PODMAN_TIMEOUTNo30Request timeout in seconds

Socket auto-detection order:

  1. $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock (rootless)
  2. /run/user/$UID/podman/podman.sock (rootless fallback)
  3. /run/podman/podman.sock (rootful)

Claude Code Integration

claude mcp add mcp-podman-crunchtools \
  --env PODMAN_SOCKET=/run/podman/podman.sock \
  -- uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools

Tools (30)

Containers (12)
ToolDescription
container_listList containers
container_inspectGet container details; environment values are redacted, names kept
container_startStart a container
container_stopStop a container
container_restartRestart a container
container_killSend signal to container
container_rmRemove a container
container_logsGet container logs
container_topList processes
container_statsResource usage
container_createCreate a container
container_pruneRemove stopped containers
Images (5)
ToolDescription
image_listList images
image_inspectGet image details
image_pullPull from registry
image_rmRemove an image
image_pruneRemove unused images, with the options of podman image prune (all, external, build_cache, filters)
Pods (7)
ToolDescription
pod_listList pods
pod_inspectGet pod details
pod_startStart a pod
pod_stopStop a pod
pod_restartRestart a pod
pod_rmRemove a pod
pod_createCreate a pod
Networks (2)
ToolDescription
network_listList networks
network_inspectGet network details
Volumes (2)
ToolDescription
volume_listList volumes
volume_inspectGet volume details
System (2)
ToolDescription
system_infoPodman system info
system_dfDisk usage

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later

Frequently asked questions

What is MCP Podman?

MCP server for Podman container management via the Podman REST API

How do I install MCP Podman?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add mcp-podman -- uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools==0.1.1. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does MCP Podman need an API key?

Its registry entry lists no required key or secret. Some features may still need an account with the service it connects to.

Is MCP Podman open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license.

Who maintains MCP Podman?

It is published by crunchtools. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.