Has anyone used docker with ADK with MCP servers?

[Allena101]

Hi 👋

I have gotten MCP servers working with ADK but I am trying to figure out to make it work using docker so that the ADK app can be deployed anywhere.

From what i understand now, best practice would be to use docker compose so that each MCP server is a separate container.
I also found out that docker desktop has their own MCP Toolkit now which seems to be great.

Search online, this depo, and the subreddit, docker does not really seem to be something that is used right now when it comes to ADK. Or it could just be that people that are learning it (like me) does not have the skills yet to implement it.

[jmdelatorre]

Hi! I have have docker containers running MCP servers locally.

This is my docker compose file

# Set working directory
WORKDIR /app

# Install system dependencies including Node.js (latest)
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    git \
    curl \
    && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_current.x | bash - \
    && apt-get install -y nodejs \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Copy requirements first for better caching
COPY requirements.txt .

# Install uv for faster dependency resolution
RUN pip install --upgrade pip uv

# Install Python dependencies using uv (much faster than pip)
RUN uv pip install --system --no-cache -r requirements.txt

# Copy the entire backend directory contents to /app
COPY . ./

# Copy any .env files from parent directory if they exist (using shell form)
RUN cp ../.env* ./ 2>/dev/null || true

# Set Python path
ENV PYTHONPATH=/app

# Set environment variables
ENV GOOGLE_GENAI_USE_VERTEXAI=False

# Default command (will be overridden)
CMD ["python", "scripts/process_single_job.py"] 

[Allena101]

Thanks mate! This will be very helpful.

Can you explain what this line does:

Copy any .env files from parent directory if they exist (using shell form)

RUN cp ../.env* ./ 2>/dev/null || true

Does it mean that if you have a .env file in your project root then it gets copied?

Do you know how much this changes if you use gcloud instead?

Also, i read that you can (perhaps should) install each mcp server as its own seperate service. Kind of like this (dont know if this works, just an example file i have not tested):

version: '3.8'
services:
fastapi-app:
build: .
ports:
- "8080:8080"
depends_on:
- mcp-server

mcp-server:
image: mongodb/mongodb-mcp-server:latest
environment:
- MDB_MCP_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017
ports:
- "8081:8080" # MCP server runs on 8080 by default, mapped to 8081 on host
depends_on:
- mongo

mongo:
image: mongo:6.0
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "27017:27017"
volumes:
- mongo_data:/data/db

volumes:
mongo_data:

[jdegraft]

Hi 👋

I have gotten MCP servers working with ADK but I am trying to figure out to make it work using docker so that the ADK app can be deployed anywhere.

From what i understand now, best practice would be to use docker compose so that each MCP server is a separate container. I also found out that docker desktop has their own MCP Toolkit now which seems to be great.

Search online, this depo, and the subreddit, docker does not really seem to be something that is used right now when it comes to ADK. Or it could just be that people that are learning it (like me) does not have the skills yet to implement it.

So I have done this.

But is doesn't work on windows, becuase spawning process in windows throws notimplemented exception.

You have to create a python script to start univicorn server, and set the

if sys.platform == "win32":
asyncio.set_event_loop_policy(asyncio.WindowsProactorEventLoopPolicy())

and use this script instead of adk web

I hope this issue is addressed more correctly.

[Allena101]

I am using windows too, but i try to do most things in WSL nowadays. Are you also using wsl?

[ajeetraina]

Did you check the new Agentic Compose feature introduced in the recent Docker Desktop release?

Do check out this use case of using Agentic Compose +MCP + Model Runner + ADK https://github.com/docker/compose-for-agents/tree/main/adk

This project demonstrates a collaborative multi-agent system built with the Agent Development Kit (ADK), where a top-level Auditor agent coordinates the workflow to verify facts. The Critic agent gathers evidence via live internet searches using DuckDuckGo through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), while the Reviser agent analyzes and refines the conclusion using internal reasoning alone. The system showcases how agents with distinct roles and tools can collaborate under orchestration.

[Allena101]

Thanks for the reply!

Wow! this does look very much like what i had in mind.

How would i add more MCP servers?

mcp-gateway:
# mcp-gateway secures your MCP servers
image: docker/mcp-gateway:latest
use_api_socket: true
command:
- --transport=sse
# add any MCP servers you want to use
- --servers=duckduckgo

Just trying figure out how it looks on the ADK side. And you also do not want every agent to have access to all the servers.

Does this mean your project cannot be deployed?
A laptop or workstation with a GPU (e.g., a MacBook) for running open models locally. If you don't have a GPU, you can alternatively use Docker Offload.

[ajeetraina]

@Allena101 To add more MCP servers, you just need to capture it under --server like this:

- --servers=duckduckgo,brave,resend,curl,mongodb

Even you can specify tools just below the servers entry like this:

 - --tools=search,fetch_content

[jdegraft]

I am building a prototype for work, and the organization currently does not use linux only windows servers. Thanks James

…

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