Tidesman

Tidesman is a free native MCP server designed for use with Apple's container tool on macOS systems equipped with Apple Silicon. It enables running, inspecting, and debugging Linux containers by communicating directly with Apple's container engine through Apple's own Swift client library, rather than relying on command-line parsing. This direct integration allows for faster interactions and structured data output, making it suitable for AI assistants and any MCP client that needs to manage or monitor containers locally.

The tool operates exclusively on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 26 "Tahoe" and requires Apple's container engine to be installed and running before use. Tidesman runs locally over standard input and output (stdio) without opening network ports or listening on sockets, enhancing security and privacy. It is signed and notarized by Apple, allowing for straightforward installation and verification through provided SHA256 checksums. The software is not affiliated with Apple Inc.

Tidesman supports multiple access modes controlled by a single flag: read-only (the default), safe, and full. The read-only mode allows users to inspect containers and logs without making changes, while safe mode adds the ability to run, stop, and manage containers without permitting deletions. Full mode enables all operations, including destructive actions such as deleting containers. Host filesystem mounts are disabled by default and require explicit user permission, ensuring the user's files remain protected unless deliberately shared. Each operation is audit-logged locally, providing a record of all actions performed.

The platform exposes nine distinct tools grouped by risk: four read tools available in all modes (system ping, container listing, inspection, and log retrieval), four write tools accessible in safe and full modes (run, exec, stop, and kill containers), and one destructive tool (delete container) available only in full mode. Every tool declares its capabilities, allowing MCP clients to prompt users before executing risky operations. Tidesman is built and maintained by Jerónimo Colón III.