# Docker Agent

> Open-source Docker CLI plugin for building, running, and sharing AI agents defined in YAML or HCL configuration files.

Docker Agent is an open-source tool from Docker that runs AI agents defined declaratively in YAML or HCL instead of application code. It runs as a `docker` CLI plugin (`docker agent`) and can serve agents through a terminal UI, headless CLI, HTTP API, MCP server, or A2A protocol. The project is licensed under Apache 2.0.

## What It Is

Docker Agent is a CLI agent builder and runtime. You describe an agent's model, instructions, toolsets, and sub-agents in a config file, and the runtime handles the LLM orchestration loop, tool execution, multi-agent delegation, and streaming output. The docs state it is not a framework you write code in, not a hosted SaaS, and not a new model.

## How the Workflow Runs

You define an agent, start it with `docker agent run`, and the agent calls tools, reasons, and delegates to sub-agents while results stream back to the TUI or an API client. `--exec` supports one-shot and piped non-interactive runs, and `docker agent serve api` exposes an agent as an API. `docker agent new` generates a config interactively.

## Tools, Models, and Teams

Built-in toolsets cover filesystem, shell, git, fetch, memory, RAG, think, todo, and more, and any MCP server (local, remote, or Docker-based) can be added. Multi-agent teams let a coordinator delegate to specialists. Agents can target many providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, xAI, and local models through Docker Model Runner.

## Packaging and Sharing

Agents can be pushed to and pulled from any OCI registry, so `docker agent run myorg/agent:tag` works like running a container image. The docs also list hooks, permissions, sandbox mode, structured output, model routing, evaluation, skills, and a Go SDK guide.

## Features
- Declarative agent definitions in YAML or HCL
- Multi-agent teams with delegation
- Built-in tools (filesystem, shell, git, fetch, memory, think, todo)
- MCP server support including Docker MCP catalog
- Provider-agnostic model support
- RAG with BM25, embeddings, hybrid search, and reranking
- Push and pull agents via OCI registries
- Terminal UI, headless CLI, HTTP API server, MCP mode, A2A protocol
- Non-interactive --exec mode for scripting
- Interactive agent generation with docker agent new

## Integrations
Docker Desktop, Docker Hub, Docker Model Runner, Docker Scout, MCP, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, xAI, Ollama, OCI registries

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, API, CLI

## Pricing
Open Source

## Version
v1.149.0

## Links
- Website: https://docker.github.io/docker-agent/
- Documentation: https://docker.github.io/docker-agent/getting-started/introduction/
- Repository: https://github.com/docker/docker-agent
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/docker-agent