mcp server
docker2wslc
Convert Docker commands and Compose files to wslc, the native WSL container runtime on Windows 11. CLI (PyPI + npm), MCP server, VS Code diagnostics.
Set up
Runs on your computer. Pick your agent and operating system.
Before you start
- Node.js 20 or newer
{
"mcpServers": {
"ylwl1997-docker2wslc": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"wslc-mcp"
]
}
}
}same format Cursor, GitHub Copilot CLI, Junie, JetBrains AI Assistant, Augment (Auggie CLI), Factory Droid, Kiro, Devin CLI +12
Values in angle brackets are placeholders. Restart Claude Desktop after editing its config.Claude Desktop docs
README
synced Oct 14, 2026docker2wslc
Tooling for wslc — the native Linux container runtime built into the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which runs OCI containers on Windows 11 without Docker Desktop.
One rule table, four consumers. No network calls, no daemon, no telemetry.
| Package | Registry | What it does |
|---|---|---|
docker2wslc | PyPI | CLI + Python API: convert, compose, lint |
docker2wslc | npm | Same CLI for Node, same output |
wslc-mcp | npm | MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf |
wslc-compatibility | not published — install from .vsix | Inline diagnostics for Compose / devcontainer files |
Quick start
# Python
pip install 'docker2wslc[yaml]'
docker2wslc convert docker run --gpus all -p 80:80 nginx
# Node
npx docker2wslc lint .
# AI agents
claude mcp add wslc -- npx -y wslc-mcp
$ docker2wslc convert docker run --gpus all --restart always -p 8080:80 nginx
wslc run --gpus all -p 8080:80 nginx
Migration notes
WARN Restart policies are not implemented in the wslc preview. Flag dropped — use a
Windows scheduled task or a wrapper script for auto-restart.
INFO `--gpus` is native in wslc 2.9.4, but the host must actually have the GPU: on a
machine without one, `--gpus all` fails at container init with an ldconfig error.
Exit codes
Meaningful, so lint works as a CI gate:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 | Fully compatible |
1 | Degraded — flags dropped or rewritten, still runnable |
2 | Unmigratable — Compose, Swarm, buildx, or a parse failure |
The rule worth knowing
CLI-driven tooling ports to wslc. API-driven tooling does not.
wslc is daemonless: no dockerd, no socket, no Engine API. Anything that opens a Docker socket
cannot attach; anything that shells out to a binary works once pointed at wslc.
That explains why VS Code Dev Containers works
(set dev.containers.dockerPath to wslc) while
Testcontainers cannot, no matter how you set
DOCKER_HOST.
Architecture
rules.json is the single source of truth — verb mappings, flag behaviour, Compose
and devcontainer key support, tool compatibility. Every package reads it, so the Python CLI, the
npm CLI, the MCP server and the VS Code extension cannot drift apart.
A parity test asserts the Python and JavaScript engines produce byte-identical output (command, exit code and notes) across the full case matrix.
rules.json ──┬── packages/py (PyPI)
├── packages/cli (npm)
├── packages/mcp (npm, MCP)
└── packages/vscode (.vsix, unpublished)
Development
# Python
cd packages/py && python -m venv .venv && .venv/bin/pip install -e '.[yaml]' pytest
.venv/bin/python -m pytest tests/ -q
# Node CLI
cd packages/cli && npm install && npm test
# MCP server (real stdio JSON-RPC round trip)
cd packages/mcp && npm install && node test/e2e.mjs
# VS Code extension (headless, stubbed vscode API)
cd packages/vscode && npm install && npm test
# Build the extension package, then install it locally
cd packages/vscode && npx @vscode/vsce package --no-dependencies
code --install-extension wslc-compatibility-0.2.0.vsix
rules.json lives at the repo root and is copied into each package at build time. Edit the root
copy, never a package copy.
Accuracy
Rules target the 2026-07 wslc public preview. wslc is a moving target — if a mapping is wrong,
open an issue with the command you ran and the
actual wslc output. Corrections are the most useful contribution.
Not affiliated with Microsoft or Docker, Inc.
Docs
Full guides at wslcontainers.com: install · cheat sheet · vs Docker Desktop · Compose migration · Dev Containers · Testcontainers
MIT licensed.