How to Set Up the Docker Companion

The Docker Companion generates a docker-compose.yml that bridges local MCP servers (designed for stdio) to HTTP/SSE endpoints that Daneel can connect to — alongside optional Ollama for local LLM inference.

Prerequisites

• Docker Desktop installed and running
• Basic familiarity with Docker Compose

Configure presets

Open Settings > Docker in Daneel. The configuration is organized as presets:

Companion sidecar (always included)

The Companion sidecar provides service discovery and health checks by monitoring the Docker socket. It’s always included in the generated compose file.

• Port: 8809 (default)
• Image: ghcr.io/daneel-ai/companion:latest

Ollama (optional)

Enable the Ollama preset to include a local Ollama container:

• Port: 11434 (default)
• Image: ollama/ollama:latest
• CORS is pre-configured for Chrome extension access

MCP Servers (optional, beta)

Add local MCP servers from the template catalog:

Template	Description
Filesystem	Browse and search local files
GitHub	Repository operations
SQLite	Query local databases
PostgreSQL	Query PostgreSQL databases
Brave Search	Web search
Puppeteer	Browser automation
Everything	Local file search (Windows)
Memory	Persistent knowledge store

You can also add custom servers by entering the command (e.g., npx -y my-mcp-server).

Each MCP server runs in a supercorp/supergateway container that bridges stdio to SSE. Ports are assigned sequentially starting from 8810.

Export and run

1. Review the YAML preview in the settings panel.
2. Click Export. Daneel:
   • Downloads the daneel.compose.yml file
   • Auto-registers each MCP server as http://localhost:{port}/sse in Daneel’s MCP server list
3. Run the stack:

docker compose -f daneel.compose.yml up -d

4. Daneel detects the running containers via the Companion sidecar’s service discovery endpoint.

How it works

The supercorp/supergateway image wraps any stdio-based MCP server as an HTTP/SSE endpoint:

Your MCP server (stdio) → supergateway container → HTTP/SSE on localhost:{port}
    ↑                                                      ↓
    └── Daneel connects here, just like any remote MCP server

Each container runs: --stdio "<command>" --port 8000 --cors

For Python-based servers, the :uvx variant of supergateway is used automatically.

Next steps

• Connect MCP servers once your stack is running
• See the AI Providers reference for Ollama configuration details