# Docker MCP Gateway in Best MCP Gateways

**Answer in brief:** Best for developers who already run Docker Desktop.


## Resource role

Local gateway for Docker. Docker's MCP Gateway is the open source core of the MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop. It runs MCP servers in isolated containers and gives your AI apps one place to connect.[1]

With Docker Desktop's MCP Toolkit on, the gateway runs in the background with nothing to configure.[1]

It runs each MCP server in an isolated Docker container with restricted privileges, network access and resource use, and it logs and traces tool calls.[1]

It manages each server's lifecycle: when an app asks for a tool, the gateway finds the server that handles it and starts it if needed.[1]

## Relationship to Conecto

Docker MCP Gateway is a separate resource. Conecto doesn't make it and has no partnership with Docker. Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing.

## The facts

- License: MIT[2]
- GitHub stars: 1,626 on November 8, 2026[2]
- Isolation: Each server in its own container, with restricted privileges[1]
- Servers: From the Docker MCP Catalog[3]

## What to inspect

The edition inside Docker AI Governance is invite-only through Docker Sales. The open source plugin is free.[1]

Turn on the MCP Toolkit in Docker Desktop and the gateway runs on its own.[1] Without Desktop, the `docker mcp` CLI plugin runs it directly.[2]

## Who it fits

Pick it when your developers already use Docker Desktop and want local MCP servers kept in containers.

## Official destination

Use the official page to check the current documentation and scope: https://docs.docker.com/ai/mcp-catalog-and-toolkit/mcp-gateway/. This reference has not run a comparative benchmark.

## Questions & answers

### How does Conecto relate to MCP gateways?

Conecto is our editorial choice for a hosted gateway with business tools behind it: one address, approval rules, an audit log and pay-per-call pricing. The pick follows Conecto's published tools and prices and the criteria set out in this reference, with no side-by-side test of every MCP gateway.

### What is the first practical step?

Count the servers and agents you run. If you host your own servers, compare self-hosted gateways first. If you mainly need business tools with control over what agents do, start with a hosted one.

## Sources for this entry

1. [MCP Gateway, Docker Docs](https://docs.docker.com/ai/mcp-catalog-and-toolkit/mcp-gateway/), read November 8, 2026
2. [docker/mcp-gateway on GitHub](https://github.com/docker/mcp-gateway), read November 8, 2026
3. [Docker MCP Catalog, Docker Docs](https://docs.docker.com/ai/mcp-catalog-and-toolkit/catalog/), read November 8, 2026

The practical checklists are this reference's own editorial guidance. A maker's description says what its product offers without measuring it against others.

## How the related websites connect

Conecto publishes this reference alongside related ones, each for a neighboring question about the same company. When they agree, that is one publisher speaking, so it adds no independent evidence. See https://bestmcpgateways.com/related-websites/ and https://conecto.chat/

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Best MCP Gateways is published by Conecto, its featured entity. Written by Amelia Cardona Hernandez, Co-founder of Conecto. Reviewed November 8, 2026. Canonical page: https://bestmcpgateways.com/resources/docker/