Configure MCP servers with YAML

Table of contents

Docker works with Anthropic to provide container images for the reference implementations of MCP servers. These are available on Docker Hub under the mcp namespace.

When you run the docker ai command in your terminal, Gordon checks for a gordon-mcp.yml file in your working directory. If present, this file lists the MCP servers Gordon should use in that context. The gordon-mcp.yml file is a Docker Compose file that configures MCP servers as Compose services for Gordon to access.

The following minimal example shows how to use the mcp-time server to provide temporal capabilities to Gordon. For more details, see the source code and documentation.

Create a gordon-mcp.yml file in your working directory and add the time server:

services:
  time:
    image: mcp/time

With this file present, you can now ask Gordon to tell you the time in another timezone:

$ docker ai 'what time is it now in kiribati?'

    • Calling get_current_time

  The current time in Kiribati (Tarawa) is 9:38 PM on January 7, 2025.

Gordon finds the MCP time server and calls its tool when needed.

Use advanced MCP server features

Some MCP servers need access to your filesystem or system environment variables. Docker Compose helps with this. Because gordon-mcp.yml is a Compose file, you can add bind mounts using standard Docker Compose syntax. This makes your filesystem resources available to the container:

services:
  fs:
    image: mcp/filesystem
    command:
      - /rootfs
    volumes:
      - .:/rootfs

The gordon-mcp.yml file adds filesystem access capabilities to Gordon. Because everything runs inside a container, Gordon only has access to the directories you specify.

Gordon can use any number of MCP servers. For example, to give Gordon internet access with the mcp/fetch server:

services:
  fetch:
    image: mcp/fetch
  fs:
    image: mcp/filesystem
    command:
      - /rootfs
    volumes:
      - .:/rootfs

You can now ask Gordon to fetch content and write it to a file:

$ docker ai can you fetch rumpl.dev and write the summary to a file test.txt

    • Calling fetch ✔️
    • Calling write_file ✔️

  The summary of the website rumpl.dev has been successfully written to the
  file test.txt in the allowed directory. Let me know if you need further
  assistance!

$ cat test.txt
The website rumpl.dev features a variety of blog posts and articles authored
by the site owner. Here's a summary of the content:

1. **Wasmio 2023 (March 25, 2023)**: A recap of the WasmIO 2023 conference 
   held in Barcelona. The author shares their experience as a speaker and 
   praises the organizers for a successful event.

2. **Writing a Window Manager in Rust - Part 2 (January 3, 2023)**: The 
   second part of a series on creating a window manager in Rust. This 
   installment focuses on enhancing the functionality to manage windows 
   effectively.

3. **2022 in Review (December 29, 2022)**: A personal and professional recap 
   of the year 2022. The author reflects on the highs and lows of the year, 
   emphasizing professional achievements.

4. **Writing a Window Manager in Rust - Part 1 (December 28, 2022)**: The 
   first part of the series on building a window manager in Rust. The author 
   discusses setting up a Linux machine and the challenges of working with 
   X11 and Rust.

5. **Add docker/docker to your dependencies (May 10, 2020)**: A guide for Go 
   developers on how to use the Docker client library in their projects. The 
   post includes a code snippet demonstrating the integration.

6. **First (October 11, 2019)**: The inaugural post on the blog, featuring a 
   simple "Hello World" program in Go.

What’s next?

Now that you know how to use MCP servers with Gordon, try these next steps:

With MCP support, Gordon gives you powerful extensibility and flexibility for your use cases, whether you need temporal awareness, file management, or internet access.