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Lab: Building Agentic Apps

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Lab: Building Agentic Apps with Docker

Hands-on lab: Build agentic apps with Docker Model Runner, MCP Gateway, and Compose. Learn about models, tools, and agentic frameworks.

AI

Labs

20 minutes

Resources:

• Docker Model Runner docs
• Docker MCP Gateway docs
• Labspace repository

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Lab: Building Agentic Apps with Docker

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Table of contents

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Get up and running with building agentic applications using Compose, Docker Model Runner, and the Docker MCP Gateway. This hands-on lab takes you from understanding AI models to building complete agentic applications.

Launch the lab

1. Start the labspace:

$ docker compose -p labspace -f oci://dockersamples/labspace-agentic-apps-with-docker up -d

Note

The lab may take a few minutes to launch, as this lab requires an AI model that will need to be downloaded.

2. Open your browser to http://localhost:3030.

3. When you're done, tear down the labspace:

$ docker compose -p labspace down

What you'll learn

This lab covers three core areas of agentic application development:

Models: What models are, how to interact with them, configuring Docker Model Runner in Compose, and writing code that connects to the Model Runner

Tools: Understanding tools and how they work, how MCP (Model Context Protocol) fits in, configuring the Docker MCP Gateway, and connecting to the MCP Gateway in code

Code: What agentic frameworks are, defining models and tools in a Compose file, and configuring your app to use those models and tools

Modules

#	Module	Description
1	Introduction	Overview of agentic applications and the Docker AI stack
2	Understanding Model Interactions	Learn how to interact with AI models
3	The Docker Model Runner	Configure and use Docker Model Runner with Compose
4	Understanding Tools and MCP	Deep dive into tools, tool calling, and MCP
5	The Docker MCP Gateway	Set up and configure the MCP Gateway
6	Putting It All Together	Build a complete agentic application
7	Conclusion	Summary and next steps