Claude + xCloud

Run Docker apps with Claude on xCloud

Running Docker apps with Claude means typing a repository name into a chat on claude.ai or in Claude Desktop and letting the xCloud connector scan the Compose file, preview the Docker site, create it after your yes and keep your Docker apps backed up.

Skill: xcloud:deploy
Toolsets: sites, servers
Free with every xCloud account

Set up Claude All Claude guides

YouScan the compose file in github.com/acme/api. Which port would xCloud use?

git_compose-scanread-only

AgentTwo services: api and redis. Only api publishes a port, 3000, and it binds 0.0.0.0. xCloud would proxy to 3000. Want me to preview the site on the Frankfurt Docker server?

YouYes, preview it.

servers_sites_git_dockerdry run

AgentPreview ready: compose file docker-compose.yml, port 3000, no warnings. Reply create to go ahead.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up Claude to Run Docker apps on xCloud?

Connect Claude once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Add xCloud as a custom connector
In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector. Name it xcloud, paste this URL as the remote MCP server URL and finish the setup. Claude shows the xCloud sign-in page; choose the teams and Read-only or Full access.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Check the connection
Start a new chat, check that the xcloud connector is enabled for it, and ask this. Claude calls xCloud and names your account and the teams you approved.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```
3
On Team or Enterprise, add it as an owner
Members cannot add custom connectors on a Team plan. An Owner or Primary Owner adds it under Organization settings, then Connectors, with the same URL. On Enterprise, a custom role with Manage access to Libraries can add it too.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```

Check it worked

Then ask Claude for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use. Create nothing yet.

In practice

How Does Docker apps Work from Claude?

In a chat there is no project folder, so the repository comes from you. You write github.com/acme/api and the name of your Docker server, and Claude calls git_detect and git_compose-scan. It answers in plain language: which services the Compose file defines, which of them publish a host port, and which port xCloud suggests as the primary one. Claude reads the scan result back as a short list rather than a wall of settings, so you can say yes, no or use the other port before anything is created. The dry run follows with the resolved configuration, and you approve by replying in the conversation. Claude then polls the site status and tells you when the URL answers.

What a chat cannot do is edit your repository. When the scan shows a Compose file that binds port 80, publishes no port or pulls from a private registry, Claude says so and writes out the lines you would change, such as a ports entry of 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 or a build context in place of the private image. You make the change in your own editor, push, and ask Claude to scan again. That round trip is the main difference from a coding agent, and it suits people who own the hosting account but not the code, such as an agency owner checking a client's repository before it goes live.

Chat is also a comfortable place for the questions that come after launch. Ask for the backup settings and last backup of every Docker app on your team, and Claude calls sites_docker_backupSettings and sites_docker_backups for each site and lists the ones with no schedule. Ask for a backup of notes.example.com before an upgrade and it runs sites_docker_backup, telling you the app stops while the snapshot is taken. If you ask to restore, Claude gives you the dashboard path, Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore Backup, because a restore replaces the app's data in place.

Claude specific: Claude can read and scan the repository on xCloud's side, but it cannot change it, so a Compose file that needs a rewrite always costs one round trip: Claude shows the lines, you edit and push, then you ask for a fresh scan. Claude also reaches xCloud from Anthropic's cloud and uses the connector you enabled for that chat, so check that xcloud is switched on in the conversation before you ask for a scan.

What xCloud does for docker apps

xCloud reads the repository, scans the Compose file for services and ports before anything is created, previews the site with a dry run and deploys it behind its own nginx once you approve. Docker sites can be backed up on demand and on a schedule, and a failed deploy is diagnosed and retried on the same site.

Pick a Docker server. The agent uses the server you name, or lists your servers and asks. A Docker deploy needs a Docker server; any other stack answers with an incompatible_server refusal, and an agentic server never takes a second site. WordPress is not supported on Docker servers.
Detect the repository. git_detect reads the repository root for a Dockerfile or one of the four Compose file names, and checks access and server compatibility. It creates nothing, and an access problem is never worked around by naming an app type by hand.
Scan the Compose file. git_compose-scan runs before the dry run. It lists the services and the host ports the file publishes, resolves which Compose file name it found, and suggests a primary port. The agent never guesses the port.
Dry run, then one approval. The agent sends the Docker create request with dry_run set to true and shows the resolved configuration: compose file, port, address and warnings. It asks once, naming the server and the URL, before sending the same body with confirm set to true and an idempotency key.
Poll and verify. A 202 means queued, not running. The agent polls the site status until it is terminal, reads failed_steps and the SSL block, and fetches the URL before it calls the app live. A 502 here usually means the Compose file publishes no port.
Back up and recover. The agent can take a Docker backup, read the backup list and settings, and add a note to a backup. If a deploy fails it reads the diagnosis, proposes a fix from the correctable fields and retries on the same site after your approval. Restoring a backup is a dashboard step.

Reference

Docker apps Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts Claude works within when it runs Docker apps. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Supported inputs	A Dockerfile for a single container, or a Compose file for one or more services, on a Docker server. Go, Python, Rust and Java apps all deploy this way
Server stack	Docker servers only. The Docker deploy on any other stack, including an agentic server, answers 422 with the code incompatible_server
Which Compose file runs	docker-compose.yml at the repository root. A file named compose.yaml, compose.yml or docker-compose.yaml, or one in a subdirectory, deploys through the pinned Docker create with docker.compose_file set to the path the scan resolved
Public port	xCloud's nginx owns ports 80 and 443 and proxies to one host port of 1024 or higher on 127.0.0.1. xCloud runs your Compose file as-is and never rewrites its ports mapping
Port refusals	A port another site already holds is refused as port_unavailable. A port the file does not publish is refused as port_not_published, with the published ports listed
No published port	A Compose file that publishes no port is accepted and then answers 502, so the scan is the step that catches it
Private registries	The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so an image from a private registry cannot be pulled. Build the image from source instead
Environment and redeploys	Send environment values through env_file_content. A redeploy runs git reset --hard and git clean -df in the site directory, so uncommitted server-side changes are lost
What a Docker backup holds	Named volumes, eligible bind mounts, the Compose file and the app's .env, in an encrypted snapshot. The app is stopped while the backup captures and restarted afterwards
Backup tools	Take a backup, list backups, read the count and the settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Remote copies go to a storage provider you add in the dashboard
Restores	A restore replaces the app's data in place, so it stays a dashboard step: Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore Backup
Dot-prefixed paths	A 403 on a path that starts with a dot is the dot-path allowlist. It is fixed with docker.allowed_dot_paths in the deploy settings, without a rebuild

Rules Claude has to follow

The Compose file is scanned before the dry run, and the port always comes from the scan, never from a guess.
A file that binds ports 80 or 443, publishes no port or pulls from a private registry is not deployed as-is. The agent shows the rewrite, such as publishing 127.0.0.1:<high port>:<app port> and building the image from source, and the change goes into your repository.
Creating a site, deploying, redeploying and deleting a backup stop for your approval. A backup runs without a separate prompt but stops the app while it captures, so ask for one at a quiet time.
A failed Docker site is retried in place with corrections. It is never deleted and recreated, because it keeps its domain and port.
Restoring a backup, adding a backup storage provider and changing a live site's domain are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path and the dashboard link xCloud returned.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask Claude to Do for Docker apps?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

Scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use. Create nothing yet.

Prompt

Deploy github.com/acme/shop to my Frankfurt Docker server as a Compose app. Show me the dry run, then wait for my approval before you create it.

Prompt

Show me the backup settings and the most recent backup for every Docker app on my team, and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

Scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use.

Prompt

Deploy github.com/acme/shop to the Frankfurt Docker server as a Compose app. Scan the compose file first, show me the services and ports, then wait for my approval before creating anything.

Prompt

Deploy the main branch of github.com/acme/api to my Docker server as a Compose app on a staging hostname.

Prompt

My Compose app on notes.example.com answers 502. Check which port its compose file publishes and which port xCloud is using.

Prompt

Take a backup of the Docker app on notes.example.com now, before I upgrade it, and tell me when it is done.

Prompt

Show the backup settings and the last backup of every Docker app on this team, and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

The last deploy of the API site failed. Diagnose it, show me the settings I can correct, fix the build command and retry on the same site.

Claude and Docker apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let Claude run Docker apps through xCloud.

Can Claude in a chat deploy a private repository as a Docker app?

It can when xCloud can read the repository, which git_detect checks before anything is created. If access is the problem, Claude reports it and you fix access in xCloud, for example with a deploy key. It does not work around an access error by guessing the app type.

Can I restore a Docker backup from the Claude chat?

No. Claude can take a backup, read the backup list and settings and add a note, but a restore replaces the app's data in place. You do that in the dashboard under Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore Backup, and Claude will give you that path.

Which servers can run a Docker app on xCloud?

Docker servers. Node.js, PHP and static builds use Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed servers, and the Docker deploy on any other stack is refused with an incompatible_server code. An OpenClaw, Hermes, Paperclip or DeepSeek Harness server hosts only the site created at provisioning, so it takes no Docker app.

Why does the agent scan the Compose file before deploying?

xCloud proxies to the host port your file publishes and never rewrites it. The scan lists the services and ports, so the agent picks a port that is free on the server and published by the file instead of guessing.

Why does my Compose app answer 502 after it deployed?

The most common cause is a Compose file that publishes no port: xCloud accepts it, then its nginx has nothing to proxy to. Publish the app on 127.0.0.1 with a high port, such as 127.0.0.1:8080:8080, and redeploy.

Can an agent deploy an image from a private registry?

Not as-is. The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so a private image cannot be pulled. Build the image from source in the Compose file, or deploy a repository that does.

Can an agent back up and restore a Docker app?

It can take a backup, read the backup list and settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Restoring replaces the app's data in place, so you do that in the dashboard under Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups.

Can I run WordPress as a Docker app on xCloud?

No. Creating a WordPress site on a Docker server is refused because WordPress is not supported on Docker servers. Use an Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed server for WordPress.

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