August 12, 2025

Is Docker Building the Best AI Stack?

1 hour 7 minutes

Bret and Nirmal are joined by Michael Irwin to discuss Docker's comprehensive AI toolkit, covering everything from local model deployment to cloud-based container orchestration across multiple interconnected tools and services.

🙌 My next course is coming soon! I've opened the waitlist for those wanting to go deep in GitHub Actions for DevOps and AI automation in 2025. I'm so thrilled to announce this course. The waitlist allows you to quickly sign up for some content updates, discounts, and more as I finish building the course.
https://courses.bretfisher.com/waitlist 🍾

We run through almost the entire Docker AI ecosystem, including the Model Runner for hosting open-source models locally or remotely, the Hub model catalog, Gordon AI chatbot integration within Docker Desktop and CLI, how MCP toolkit and catalog enable seamless tool integration with local AI systems, Docker's open-source MCP gateway for managing these connections, plus Docker's new Offload service for running containers and models entirely in Docker Cloud and much, much more!

★Show Links★
Docker Model Runner
Gordon AI Blog Post
Docker Offload
Docker Gen AI Catalog
Docker MCP Catalog and Toolkit
Docker MCP Gateway Repository

Check out the video podcast version here: https://youtu.be/dUmSsnc33O0

Creators & Guests

Cristi Cotovan - Editor

Bret Fisher - Host

Beth Fisher - Producer

Nirmal Mehta - Host

Michael Irwin 🇺🇦 🕊 - Guest

You can also support my free material by subscribing to my YouTube channel and my weekly newsletter at bret.news!

Grab the best coupons for my Docker and Kubernetes courses.
Join my cloud native DevOps community on Discord.
Grab some merch at Bret's Loot Box
Homepage bretfisher.com

(00:00) - Intro

(04:32) - Gordon AI

(11:18) - Docker Model Runner

(21:11) - State of Free Models

(23:48) - MCP Toolkit

(26:16) - MCP Gateway

(35:22) - MCP Server Limits

(40:08) - MCP Gateway vs API Gateway

(47:48) - Model Support in Docker Compose

(52:37) - Docker Offload

...more

View all episodes

By Bret Fisher

4.6

5353 ratings