Starting with Docker Desktop 4.63+, docker-agent is pre-installed. No separate installation needed.Open a terminal and verify:
docker agent version
Docker Desktop bundles docker-agent and keeps it up to date automatically. This is the easiest way to get started, especially if you want to use Docker MCP tools or Docker Model Runner for local models.
1
Install with Homebrew
brew install docker-agent
2
Verify the installation
docker-agent version
3
(Optional) Install as a Docker CLI plugin
Symlink the binary into the Docker CLI plugins directory to use docker agent instead of docker-agent:
mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-pluginsln -sf "$(which docker-agent)" ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-agentdocker agent version
Download a prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases for your platform.
sudo mv docker-agent /usr/local/bin/docker-agent version
Or to use as a Docker CLI plugin (docker agent):
mkdir -p ~/.docker/cli-pluginsmv docker-agent ~/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-agentdocker agent version
1
Download the binary
Download docker-agent-windows-amd64.exe from the GitHub Releases page and rename it to docker-agent.exe.
2
Add to PATH or Docker CLI plugins
To use as a standalone command, move docker-agent.exe to a directory in your PATH.To use as a Docker CLI plugin (docker agent), move it to %USERPROFILE%\.docker\cli-plugins\:
mkdir -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.docker\cli-plugins"Move-Item docker-agent.exe "$env:USERPROFILE\.docker\cli-plugins\docker-agent.exe"docker agent version
Build from source to get the latest features or to contribute.Prerequisites:
On Windows, task build-local builds the binary inside a Docker container using Docker Buildx, which avoids issues with Windows-specific toolchain setup and CGo cross-compilation. The output goes to the ./dist directory.
# Check the installed versiondocker agent version# Run the default built-in agentdocker agent run# Try a pre-built agent from the catalogdocker agent run agentcatalog/pirate