MCP gateway and client commands not working in WSL - "Docker Desktop is not running"

[ThePlenkov]

[AI Generated Issue]

Description

When trying to use MCP gateway and client commands in WSL, they fail with "Docker Desktop is not running" error, even when Docker Desktop is actually running. Specifically:

docker mcp gateway run
Docker Desktop is not running

docker mcp client connect vscode
Docker Desktop is not running

This appears to be related to the broader issue described in docker/for-win#14873 where Docker CLI plugins (including docker desktop status, docker ai, and docker mcp commands) fail to detect Docker Desktop when run from WSL.

Reproduce

1. Start Docker Desktop on Windows
2. Verify Docker Desktop is running
3. Open WSL terminal
4. Try to run any of these commands:

   docker mcp gateway run
   docker mcp client connect vscode

5. Observe error message: "Docker Desktop is not running"

Expected behavior

The MCP gateway and client commands should work properly in WSL, just as they do in Windows PowerShell/CMD.

Workaround

Currently, users need to run these commands from Windows PowerShell/CMD instead of WSL.

Related Issues

This appears to be part of the same underlying issue as:

• WSL Docker CLI plugins like docker desktop status and docker ai do not detect Docker Desktop for-win#14873 - "WSL Docker CLI plugins like docker desktop status and docker ai do not detect Docker Desktop"

[ThePlenkov]

Workaround:

While waiting for a fix, you can work around this issue by explicitly using the Windows Docker CLI executable from WSL. Here are two ways to do it:

1. Direct usage:

/Docker/host/bin/docker.exe mcp gateway run
/Docker/host/bin/docker.exe mcp client connect vscode

2. Add to PATH in your ~/.bashrc:

# Add Docker Windows CLI to path
export PATH="/Docker/host/bin:$PATH"

After adding to PATH:

1. Close and reopen your terminal
2. The docker command will now use the Windows executable by default

This workaround allows you to continue using MCP commands from WSL while the underlying issue is being addressed.

[ThePlenkov]

Linked issue: docker/mcp-gateway#49

[keejkrej]

Workaround:

While waiting for a fix, you can work around this issue by explicitly using the Windows Docker CLI executable from WSL. Here are two ways to do it:

1. Direct usage:

/Docker/host/bin/docker.exe mcp gateway run
/Docker/host/bin/docker.exe mcp client connect vscode
2. Add to PATH in your ~/.bashrc:

Add Docker Windows CLI to path

export PATH="/Docker/host/bin:$PATH"
After adding to PATH:

1. Close and reopen your terminal
2. The docker command will now use the Windows executable by default

This workaround allows you to continue using MCP commands from WSL while the underlying issue is being addressed.

For me, I need to docker.exe mcp gateway run instead of docker mcp gateway run after setting the PATH

[conall88]

incase anyone else stumbles on this, here's what I ended up doing to get this working:

1] execute in shell:
export PATH="/Docker/host/bin:$PATH"

/Docker/host/bin/docker.exe mcp client connect cursor

=== Project-wide MCP Configurations (\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\user\repos\June) ===
 ● claude-code: disconnected
 ● crush: disconnected
 ● cursor: connected
   MCP_DOCKER: Docker MCP Catalog (gateway server) (stdio)
 ● kiro: no mcp configured
 ● vscode: no mcp configured
You might have to restart 'cursor'.
Tip: Your client is now connected! Use docker mcp tools ls to see your available tools

I then checked the MCP server status, and it returned the following error:

2026-03-24 04:04:03.830 [info] Starting new stdio process with command: docker mcp gateway run
2026-03-24 04:04:03.835 [info] Server creation in progress, waiting for completion
2026-03-24 04:04:04.187 [error] Docker Desktop is not running
 undefined
2026-03-24 04:04:04.194 [info] Client closed for command
2026-03-24 04:04:04.194 [warning] [V1] initializing -> error: Client closed
2026-03-24 04:04:04.196 [warning] Pending server creation failed: MCP error -32000: Connection closed
2026-03-24 04:04:04.936 [info] Server not yet created, returning empty offerings

Which I realised was because mcp.json was referencing windows filesystem paths that didn't make sense, such as:
{"mcpServers":{"MCP_DOCKER":{"command":"docker","args":["mcp","gateway","run"],"env":{"LOCALAPPDATA":"C:\\Users\\user\\AppData\\Local","ProgramData":"C:\\ProgramData","ProgramFiles":"C:\\Program Files"}}}}

which I reformatted to:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCP_DOCKER": {
      "command": "/mnt/c/Program Files/Docker/Docker/resources/bin/docker.exe",
      "args": ["mcp", "gateway", "run"]
    }
  }
}

which worked.