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guides: update agentic guide (#24036)
<!--Delete sections as needed --> ## Description Removed Offload. Added tip for cagent. ## Related issues or tickets <!-- Related issues, pull requests, or Jira tickets --> ## Reviews <!-- Notes for reviewers here --> <!-- List applicable reviews (optionally @tag reviewers) --> - [ ] Editorial review --------- Signed-off-by: Craig Osterhout <craig.osterhout@docker.com>
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content/guides/agentic-ai.md

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---
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title: Build and run agentic AI applications with Docker
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linktitle: Agentic AI applications
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keywords: AI, Docker, Model Runner, MCP Toolkit, Docker Offload, AI agents, application development
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keywords: AI, Docker, Model Runner, MCP Toolkit, AI agents, application development
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summary: |
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Learn how to create AI agent applications using Docker Model Runner, MCP Toolkit, and Docker Offload.
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Learn how to create AI agent applications using Docker Model Runner, and MCP Toolkit.
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params:
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tags: [AI]
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time: 30 minutes
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---
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> [!TIP]
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>
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> This guide uses the familiar Docker Compose workflow to orchestrate agentic AI
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> applications. For a smoother development experience, check out [Docker
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> cagent](../manuals/ai/cagent/_index.md), a purpose-built agent runtime that
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> simplifies running and managing AI agents.
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## Introduction
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Agentic applications are transforming how software gets built. These apps don't
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capabilities via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
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Docker makes this AI-powered stack simpler, faster, and more secure by unifying
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models, tool gateways, and cloud infrastructure into a developer-friendly
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workflow that uses Docker Compose.
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models, and tool gateways into a developer-friendly workflow that uses Docker
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Compose.
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![A diagram of the agentic stack](./images/agentic-ai-diagram.webp)
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and securely run external tools, like APIs and databases, using the Model
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Context Protocol (MCP).
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- [Docker MCP Gateway](../manuals/ai/mcp-catalog-and-toolkit/mcp-gateway.md) lets you orchestrate and manage MCP servers.
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- [Docker Offload](/offload/) provides a powerful, GPU-accelerated
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environment to run your AI applications with the same Compose-based
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workflow you use locally.
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- [Docker Compose](/manuals/ai/compose/models-and-compose.md) is the tool that ties it all
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together, letting you define and run multi-container applications with a
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single file.
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For this guide, you'll start by running the app in Docker Offload, using the
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same Compose workflow you're already familiar with. Then, if your machine
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hardware supports it, you'll run the same app locally using the same workflow.
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Finally, you'll dig into the Compose file, Dockerfile, and app to see how it all
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works together.
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For this guide, you'll use the same Compose workflow you're already familiar
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with. Then, you'll dig into the Compose file, Dockerfile, and app to see how it
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all works together.
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## Prerequisites
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To follow this guide, you need to:
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- [Install Docker Desktop 4.43 or later](../get-started/get-docker.md)
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- [Enable Docker Model Runner](/manuals/ai/model-runner.md#enable-dmr-in-docker-desktop)
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- [Join Docker Offload Beta](/offload/quickstart/)
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- At least the following hardware specifications:
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- VRAM: 3.5 GB
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- Storage: 2.31 GB
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## Step 1: Clone the sample application
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$ cd compose-for-agents/adk/
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```
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## Step 2: Run the application with Docker Offload
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You'll start by running the application in Docker Offload, which provides a
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managed environment for running AI workloads. This is ideal if you want to
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leverage cloud resources or if your local machine doesn't meet the hardware
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requirements to run the model locally. Docker Offload includes support for
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GPU-accelerated instances, making it ideal for compute-intensive workloads like
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AI model inference.
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To run the application with Docker Offload, follow these steps:
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1. Sign in to the Docker Desktop Dashboard.
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2. In a terminal, start Docker Offload by running the following command:
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```console
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$ docker offload start
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```
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When prompted, choose the account you want to use for Docker Offload and select
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**Yes** when prompted **Do you need GPU support?**.
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3. In the `adk/` directory of the cloned repository, run the following command
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in a terminal to build and run the application:
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```console
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$ docker compose up
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```
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The first time you run this command, Docker pulls the model from Docker Hub,
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which may take some time.
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The application is now running with Docker Offload. Note that the Compose workflow
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is the same when using Docker Offload as it is locally. You define your
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application in a `compose.yaml` file, and then use `docker compose up` to build
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and run it.
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4. Visit [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080). Enter a correct or
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incorrect fact in the prompt and hit enter. An agent searches DuckDuckGo to
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verify it and another agent revises the output.
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![Screenshot of the application](./images/agentic-ai-app.png)
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## Step 2: Run the application locally
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5. Press ctrl-c in the terminal to stop the application when you're done.
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6. Run the following command to stop Docker Offload:
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```console
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$ docker offload stop
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```
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## Step 3: Optional. Run the application locally
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If your machine meets the necessary hardware requirements, you can run the
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Your machine must meet the necessary hardware requirements to run the
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entire application stack locally using Docker Compose. This lets you test the
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application end-to-end, including the model and MCP gateway, without needing to
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run in the cloud. This particular example uses the [Gemma 3 4B
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incorrect fact in the prompt and hit enter. An agent searches DuckDuckGo to
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verify it and another agent revises the output.
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![Screenshot of the application](./images/agentic-ai-app.png)
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3. Press ctrl-c in the terminal to stop the application when you're done.
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## Step 4: Review the application environment
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## Step 3: Review the application environment
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You can find the `compose.yaml` file in the `adk/` directory. Open it in a text
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editor to see how the services are defined.
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- Hosted OpenAI: if you supply `OPENAI_API_KEY` (and optionally `OPENAI_MODEL_NAME`)
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- Model Runner: by remapping `MODEL_RUNNER_URL` and `MODEL_RUNNER_MODEL` into the OpenAI client’s expected variables
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## Step 5: Review the application
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## Step 4: Review the application
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The `adk` web application is an agent implementation that connects to the MCP
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gateway and a model through environment variables and API calls. It uses the
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modular way.
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You also saw how Docker simplifies this process by providing a suite of tools
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that support local and cloud-based agentic AI development:
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that support agentic AI development:
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- [Docker Model Runner](../manuals/ai/model-runner/_index.md): Run and serve
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open-source models locally via OpenAI-compatible APIs.
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MCP servers to connect agents to external tools and services.
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- [Docker Compose](/manuals/ai/compose/models-and-compose.md): Define and run
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multi-container agentic AI applications with a single file, using the same
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workflow locally and in the cloud.
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- [Docker Offload](/offload/): Run GPU-intensive AI workloads in a secure, managed
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cloud environment using the same Docker Compose workflow you use locally.
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workflow.
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With these tools, you can develop and test agentic AI applications efficiently,
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locally or in the cloud, using the same consistent workflow throughout.
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using the same consistent workflow throughout.

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