DOCKER.md

Docker Setup

This document explains how to build and run the Perplexity MCP Server using Docker.

Prerequisites

• Docker installed on your system
• A Perplexity API key from the API Portal

Building the Docker Image

Build the Docker image from the project root:

docker build -t perplexity-mcp-server .

Running the Container

HTTP Mode (Default)

The Docker container runs in HTTP mode by default, making it accessible via HTTP requests:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -e PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here perplexity-mcp-server

The server will be accessible at http://localhost:8080/mcp

With Custom Timeout

Set a custom timeout for requests (default is 5 minutes):

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here \
  -e PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS=600000 \
  perplexity-mcp-server

With Proxy Support

If you're behind a corporate proxy, configure it:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here \
  -e PERPLEXITY_PROXY=https://your-proxy-host:8080 \
  perplexity-mcp-server

Or with authentication:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 \
  -e PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here \
  -e PERPLEXITY_PROXY=https://username:password@your-proxy-host:8080 \
  perplexity-mcp-server

Using Environment File

Create a .env file:

PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here
PERPLEXITY_TIMEOUT_MS=600000
PERPLEXITY_PROXY=https://your-proxy-host:8080
PORT=8080

Then run:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 --env-file .env perplexity-mcp-server

Integration with MCP Clients

When using the HTTP Docker server, configure your MCP client to connect to the HTTP endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8080/mcp"
    }
  }
}

STDIO Mode (Local Development)

For local development with STDIO transport, you can still run the server locally without Docker:

npm install
npm run build
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=your_key_here npm start

Note: The Docker image is optimized for HTTP mode deployment. For local STDIO usage, the npx method documented in the main README is recommended.