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Docker Setup for Serena (Experimental)

⚠️ EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE: The Docker setup for Serena is still experimental and has some limitations. Please read this entire document before using Docker with Serena.

Overview

Docker support allows you to run Serena in an isolated container environment, which provides better security isolation for the shell tool and consistent dependencies across different systems.

Benefits

  • Safer shell tool execution: Commands run in an isolated container environment
  • Consistent dependencies: No need to manage language servers and dependencies on your host system
  • Cross-platform support: Works consistently across Windows, macOS, and Linux

Important Usage Pointers

Configuration

Serena's configuration and log files are stored in the container in /workspaces/serena/config/. Any local configuration you may have for Serena will not apply; the container uses its own separate configuration.

You can mount a local configuration/data directory to persist settings across container restarts (which will also contain session log files). Simply mount your local directory to /workspaces/serena/config in the container. Initially, be sure to add a serena_config.yml file to the mounted directory which applies the following special settings for Docker usage:

# Disable the GUI log window since it's not supported in Docker
gui_log_window: False
# Listen on all interfaces for the web dashboard to be accessible from outside the container
web_dashboard_listen_address: 0.0.0.0
# Disable opening the web dashboard on launch (not possible within the container)
web_dashboard_open_on_launch: False

Set other configuration options as needed.

Project Activation Limitations

  • Only mounted directories work: Projects must be mounted as volumes to be accessible
  • Projects outside the mounted directories cannot be activated or accessed
  • Since projects are not remembered across container restarts (unless you mount a local configuration as described above), activate them using the full path (e.g. /workspaces/projects/my-project) when using dynamic project activation

Language Support Limitations

The default Docker image does not include dependencies for languages that require explicit system-level installations. Only languages that install their requirements on the fly will work out of the box.

Dashboard Port Configuration

The web dashboard runs on port 24282 (0x5EDA) by default. You can configure this using environment variables:

# Use default ports
docker-compose up serena

# Use custom ports
SERENA_DASHBOARD_PORT=8080 docker-compose up serena

⚠️ Note: If the local port is occupied, you'll need to specify a different port using the environment variable.

Line Ending Issues on Windows

⚠️ Windows Users: Be aware of potential line ending inconsistencies:

  • Files edited within the Docker container may use Unix line endings (LF)
  • Your Windows system may expect Windows line endings (CRLF)
  • This can cause issues with version control and text editors
  • Configure your Git settings appropriately: git config core.autocrlf true

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

  1. Production mode (for using Serena as MCP server):

    docker-compose up serena

  2. Development mode (with source code mounted):

    docker-compose up serena-dev

Note: Edit the compose.yaml file to customize volume mounts for your projects.

Building the Docker Image Manually

# Build the image
docker build -t serena .

# Run with current directory mounted
docker run -it --rm \
  -v "$(pwd)":/workspace \
  -p 9121:9121 \
  -p 24282:24282 \
  -e SERENA_DOCKER=1 \
  serena

Using Docker Compose with Merge Compose files

To use Docker Compose with merge files, you can create a compose.override.yml file to customize the configuration:

services:
  serena:
    # To work with projects, you must mount them as volumes:
    volumes:
      - ./my-project:/workspace/my-project
      - /path/to/another/project:/workspace/another-project
    # Add the context for the IDE assistant option:
    command:
      - "uv run --directory . serena-mcp-server --transport sse --port 9121 --host 0.0.0.0 --context claude-code"

See the Docker Merge Compose files documentation for more details on using merge files.

Accessing the Dashboard

Once running, access the web dashboard at:

Volume Mounting

To work with projects, you must mount them as volumes:

# In compose.yaml
volumes:
  - ./my-project:/workspace/my-project
  - /path/to/another/project:/workspace/another-project

Environment Variables

  • SERENA_DOCKER=1: Set automatically to indicate Docker environment
  • SERENA_PORT: MCP server port (default: 9121)
  • SERENA_DASHBOARD_PORT: Web dashboard port (default: 24282)
  • INTELEPHENSE_LICENSE_KEY: License key for Intelephense PHP LSP premium features (optional)

Troubleshooting

Port Already in Use

If you see "port already in use" errors:

# Check what's using the port
lsof -i :24282  # macOS/Linux
netstat -ano | findstr :24282  # Windows

# Use a different port
SERENA_DASHBOARD_PORT=8080 docker-compose up serena

Configuration Issues

If you need to reset Docker configuration:

# Remove Docker-specific config
rm serena_config.docker.yml

# Serena will auto-generate a new one on next run

Project Access Issues

Ensure projects are properly mounted:

  • Check volume mounts in docker-compose.yaml
  • Use absolute paths for external projects
  • Verify permissions on mounted directories