mcp-use vs docker-agent
Two of the top projects in Agent and MCP starters, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
mcp-use
TypeScript framework for building MCP servers with React Views and an Inspector
docker-agent
Docker CLI plugin that runs multi-agent teams defined in YAML
Verdict
Both score 59; mcp-use ranks higher on stars, 10,786 to 4,573. Of the 5 score parts we measure for both, mcp-use leads on 2, docker-agent on 2 and 1 is even.
- Adoptionmcp-use leads by 25 points, 78 to 53: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancemcp-use leads by 5 points, 97 to 92.
- Easy to rundocker-agent leads by 17 points, 17 to 0: a wide gap.
- Agent-readydocker-agent leads by 30 points, 30 to 0: a wide gap.
Pick mcp-use if you are
TypeScript developers building MCP servers and ChatGPT or Claude apps
- Zod schemas flow from tool input and output into React View props
- Inspector served at /mcp/inspector in dev; headless CLI can call tools and screenshot Views
Pick docker-agent if you are
Developers building multi-agent setups from YAML with MCP tools
- Agents, tools and models declared in versionable YAML, no code required
- Works with local, remote or Docker-based MCP servers as toolsets
| What we compare | mcp-use | docker-agent |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 78, popular | 53, popular |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 97, healthy | 92, healthy |
| Easy to run | 0, hard | 17, hard |
| Agent-ready | 0, none | 30, minimal |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 10.8k | 4.6k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | Apache-2.0 (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Docker | No | Yes |
| GPU | Not needed | Optional |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Not stated | Mentioned |
mcp-use
mcp-use is a TypeScript v2 framework, built on the official MCP TypeScript SDK, for writing MCP servers with Zod-typed tools. It binds React Views to tools so they render as interactive apps in hosts such as ChatGPT and Claude. It ships a dev Inspector, a headless client CLI, a View screenshot command, tunneling, and a deploy command targeting Manufact.
Who it is for: TypeScript developers building MCP servers and ChatGPT or Claude apps
Strengths
- Zod schemas flow from tool input and output into React View props
- Inspector served at /mcp/inspector in dev; headless CLI can call tools and screenshot Views
- Built-in tunnel (mcp-use dev --tunnel) for testing in ChatGPT and Claude before deploy
- MIT licensed, with a self-hosting guide alongside the hosted option
Weaknesses
- v2 is a breaking change from v1; a migration guide is needed
- Benchmark and comparison figures are the project's own, not independent
- One-command npm run deploy targets the vendor's Manufact platform
- Example apps live in separate repos, not in the main package
- TypeScript
- Needs Node.js, npm, React, Zod
docker-agent
docker-agent is a Go CLI plugin (`docker agent run agent.yaml`) that runs agents declared in YAML: model, instructions, and toolsets, including any MCP server. Agents can delegate to other agents, and configs can be pushed to and pulled from OCI registries. It supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, xAI and Docker Model Runner, plus built-in RAG with BM25, embeddings and reranking.
Who it is for: Developers building multi-agent setups from YAML with MCP tools
Strengths
- Agents, tools and models declared in versionable YAML, no code required
- Works with local, remote or Docker-based MCP servers as toolsets
- Agent configs can be shared through any OCI registry
- Many providers supported, plus local models via Docker Model Runner
Weaknesses
- Collects anonymous usage telemetry; opt-out details are only in the docs
- Needs a cloud provider API key or Docker Model Runner to do anything
- Configuration is YAML-centric; custom logic needs MCP tools rather than code hooks
- RAM and hardware requirements are not documented in the README
- Go, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, AWS Bedrock
- Needs Docker CLI (plugin), LLM provider API key or Docker Model Runner, MCP servers (optional), OCI registry (optional)
- Docker
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