docker-run
Run a Docker container with specified options
This record as markdown: /tools/0xshariq-docker-mcp-server/docker-run.md
What docker-run does on Docker MCP Server
AI agents invoke docker-run to trigger actions in Docker MCP Server. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why docker-run is rated High
docker-run executes arbitrary containerized workloads with configurable parameters (image, command, environment, mounts, network). While containers provide isolation, a malicious or misconfigured invocation could expose host resources, leak credentials, consume excessive compute, or execute harmful payloads. The effects are runtime-dependent on arguments.
From the tool's definition Tool performs 'Run a Docker container with specified options' — a direct execution action that launches external processes (containers) whose behavior is determined by user-supplied arguments.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs docker-run safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Docker MCP Server, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For docker-run, this is the rule to start with:
docker-run stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Docker MCP Server, apply this rule, and every docker-run call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about docker-run
Run a Docker container with specified options. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Docker MCP Server MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Docker MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for docker-run: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Docker MCP Server. Nothing to install.
docker-run is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the docker-run rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for docker-run. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
docker-run is provided by the Docker MCP Server MCP server (0xshariq/docker-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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