MCP Podman

io.github.crunchtoolsPublished by GitHub account crunchtoolsv0.1.1Updated Oct 24, 2026

MCP server for Podman container management via the Podman REST API

VerifiedSTDIODesktop onlyCloud & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools

Overview

AI-generated overview

A local MCP server that lets an assistant manage Podman containers, images, pods, networks and volumes through the Podman REST API.

What you can do
List, inspect, create, start, stop, restart, kill, remove and prune containers, and read their logs, processes and resource usage. List, inspect, pull, remove and prune images. List, inspect, create, start, stop, restart and remove pods. List and inspect networks and volumes. Show Podman system info and disk usage.
When to use it
Useful when you run Podman on the same machine and want an assistant to inspect or operate containers, pods, images and storage without typing commands yourself, for both rootful and rootless setups.
Requirements
Runs locally as a Python package (uvx or pip) or as a container, and needs access to the Podman Unix socket. The socket path is auto-detected, or set with PODMAN_SOCKET or PODMAN_SOCKET_FILE; PODMAN_TIMEOUT optionally sets the request timeout.
Before you install
Many tools change state: start, stop, restart, kill, remove, prune, create and pull. Pruning and removal can delete containers, images and pods, and pulling images uses network and disk. Container inspect redacts environment values but keeps names. Access to the Podman socket grants control over the local container runtime.

Installation

In SourceWeft

  1. Open MCP Podman in the dashboard and add it to a workspace.
  2. Enable the server for the chats that should use its tools.

Desktop only via STDIO. STDIO servers start a local process, so they need the SourceWeft desktop host.

Other MCP clients

Follow the launch instructions in the repository.

README

mcp-podman-crunchtools

MCP server for Podman container management via the Podman REST API. Manages containers, images, pods, networks, volumes, and system info. Supports both rootful and rootless Podman.

Installation

bash
# uvx (zero-install)uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools
# pippip install mcp-podman-crunchtools
# Containerpodman run -v /run/podman/podman.sock:/run/podman/podman.sock:z \  --security-opt label=type:container_runtime_t \  quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-podman

Configuration

VariableRequiredDefaultDescription
PODMAN_SOCKETNoAuto-detectUnix socket path
PODMAN_SOCKET_FILENo—File containing socket path
PODMAN_TIMEOUTNo30Request timeout in seconds

Socket auto-detection order:

  1. $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock (rootless)
  2. /run/user/$UID/podman/podman.sock (rootless fallback)
  3. /run/podman/podman.sock (rootful)

Claude Code Integration

bash
claude mcp add mcp-podman-crunchtools \  --env PODMAN_SOCKET=/run/podman/podman.sock \  -- uvx mcp-podman-crunchtools

Tools (30)

Containers (12)

ToolDescription
container_listList containers
container_inspectGet container details; environment values are redacted, names kept
container_startStart a container
container_stopStop a container
container_restartRestart a container
container_killSend signal to container
container_rmRemove a container
container_logsGet container logs
container_topList processes
container_statsResource usage
container_createCreate a container
container_pruneRemove stopped containers

Images (5)

ToolDescription
image_listList images
image_inspectGet image details
image_pullPull from registry
image_rmRemove an image
image_pruneRemove unused images, with the options of podman image prune (all, external, build_cache, filters)

Pods (7)

ToolDescription
pod_listList pods
pod_inspectGet pod details
pod_startStart a pod
pod_stopStop a pod
pod_restartRestart a pod
pod_rmRemove a pod
pod_createCreate a pod

Networks (2)

ToolDescription
network_listList networks
network_inspectGet network details

Volumes (2)

ToolDescription
volume_listList volumes
volume_inspectGet volume details

System (2)

ToolDescription
system_infoPodman system info
system_dfDisk usage

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later

Source: README.md at commit f70f67d

Tools

0
SourceWeft has not started this package in its sandbox yet, so its tools are not known.

Version history

1
  1. v0.1.1LatestSep 16, 2026

Score

50% of the applicable checks met

How complete this listing is, computed from the registry entry, the endpoint and public sources. Not a rating of the server and not a statement that it is safe or working today: reachability is a dated check, and no installs or reviews go into the score.

  • Reached in the last 30 days25 pts

    Keep the endpoint answering the MCP handshake; SourceWeft probes it every 30 days.

  • Auth declared10 pts

    Declare the credential headers in the registry entry, or keep the endpoint answering the probe so its auth can be classified.

  • Tools listed15 pts

    Answer tools/list without a credential, or ship a package that starts in a sandbox without one.

  • DescriptionRequired15 pts
  • Logo10 pts
  • Documentation15 pts
  • License10 pts