---
title: Docker publishing | Stainless
description: Publish your MCP server as a Docker image for easier distribution and deployment
---

For easier distribution and deployment, you can publish Docker images for your MCP server. This creates a containerized version that can be easily deployed and distributed.

## Configure Docker publishing

Under the TypeScript [target](/docs/reference/config#targets---targets/index.md) in your Stainless config, add the `mcp_server.publish.docker` option:

```
targets:
  typescript:
    options:
      mcp_server:
        publish:
          docker: myorg/my-api-mcp
```

Your Docker image is published to [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/) by default. To use a different registry:

```
targets:
  typescript:
    options:
      mcp_server:
        publish:
          docker:
            image_name: myorg/my-api-mcp
            registry: ghcr.io
```

## Create a Docker Hub access token

You can create either a Personal Access Token or an Organization Access Token depending on your setup.

Personal Access Token (individual accounts)

Use this for individual Docker Hub accounts or when you don’t have a Docker Team/Business subscription:

1. Sign in to your Docker Hub account at [hub.docker.com](https://hub.docker.com)
2. Navigate to **Account Settings > Security > Personal Access Tokens**
3. Click **Generate new token**
4. Provide a descriptive token name (e.g., “MCP Server GitHub Actions Publishing”)
5. Set access permissions to **Read & Write** (required for pushing images)
6. Click **Generate** and immediately copy the token

For more details, see [Docker’s Personal Access Token documentation](https://docs.docker.com/security/for-developers/access-tokens/).

Organization Access Token (Team/Business accounts)

Use this if you have a Docker Team or Business subscription and want centralized token management:

1. Sign in to Docker Hub and navigate to the **Admin Console**

2. Select your organization

3. Go to **Access tokens > Generate token**

4. Configure:

   - **Label and description**: “MCP Server GitHub Actions Publishing”
   - **Expiration date**: Set appropriate expiration
   - **Repository access**: Select repositories this token can access
   - **Access permissions**: Enable **Read & Write**

5. Generate and immediately copy the token

Organization Access Tokens provide better security and management features but are incompatible with Docker Desktop. For more details, see [Docker’s Organization Access Token documentation](https://docs.docker.com/security/for-admins/access-tokens/).

Treat access tokens like passwords. Store the token securely—you won’t be able to see it again after creation.

## Add credentials to your production repo

1. Open your production repo in GitHub

2. Navigate to **Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions > New repository secret**

3. Add a `DOCKERHUB_TOKEN` secret with your access token as the value

4. Navigate to **Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions > Variables tab > New repository variable**

5. Add a `DOCKERHUB_USERNAME` variable:

   - For personal access tokens: use your Docker Hub username
   - For organization access tokens: use the organization name

## Publish to Docker Hub

After Docker publishing is configured, the next build generates the necessary Docker assets (`Dockerfile`, `.dockerignore`, `bin/docker-tags` script, and a GitHub Actions workflow) in your SDK.

Versioning follows the same strategy as npm publishing, with exact version tags, `latest` for stable releases, and pre-release tags like `alpha` or `beta` when appropriate. See [versioning and releases](/docs/guides/publish#versioning-and-releases/index.md) for details.

Your Docker image is published automatically when a [release PR](/docs/guides/publish#versioning-and-releases/index.md) is merged. You can also run the GitHub workflow manually.

## Use published Docker images

Once published, users can run your MCP server using Docker:

Terminal window

```
# Pull and run the latest version
docker run --rm -i myorg/my-api-mcp


# Run a specific version
docker run --rm -i myorg/my-api-mcp:1.2.3


# With environment variables
docker run --rm -i -e MY_API_KEY=your-api-key myorg/my-api-mcp
```

For remote deployment with HTTP transport, see [Remote deployment](/docs/mcp/remote/index.md).