Get an audit

Head to head · Local inference · October 2026 research run

Docker Model Runner vs Lemonade

Lemonade scores 63.8 (B) on agent readiness against Docker Model Runner's 57.1 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Docker Model Runner leads on reliability and transparency & trust. Both do local inference.

Docker Model RunnerDocker, Inc. · HTTP API C57.1/100#559 of 841 LemonadeAMD and the Lemonade community · HTTP API B63.8/100#336 of 841

Which one, for what

Docker Model Runner C

Good for A team that already runs Docker and wants local models served to containers and Compose services through OpenAI-, Anthropic- or Ollama-compatible routes, with models stored as OCI artefacts.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 85 against 75
  • Transparency & trust, 73 against 64

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it

Watch for

No credential on the API. The docs say any client that can reach it, including other containers, can pull, load and run models

Lemonade B

Good for An owner with AMD hardware (Ryzen AI NPUs, Radeon or Strix Halo) who wants one local server for chat, speech and images that existing OpenAI, Anthropic or Ollama clients can call, and for MCP clients that want local models as tools.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 70 against 49
  • Agent ergonomics, 70 against 58
  • Maintenance & community, 76 against 55

Also in its favour

  • No incidents deducted, where Docker Model Runner loses 3 points for them

Watch for

No authentication by default. With no key set, every route answers, including /internal/* shutdown and configuration

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runDocker Model RunnerLemonadeEdge
Reliability16%208575Docker Model Runner +10
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.24970Lemonade +21
Agent ergonomics13%16.25870Lemonade +12
Security & auth14%17.54036Docker Model Runner +4
Payments & pricing10%12.56060even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.85576Lemonade +21
Transparency & trust7%8.87364Docker Model Runner +9
Negative events≤15-30
Total57.1 · C63.8 · B

Facts side by side

FactDocker Model RunnerLemonade
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorDocker, Inc.AMD and the Lemonade community
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
TransportsHTTPHTTP
AuthNoneAPI key
PricingFreeFree
x402nono
LicenceApache-2.0 (server, CLI plugin and dmr binary). Docker Desktop, which bundles it, is closed software under Docker's subscription agreement, and each model carries its own licenceApache 2.0. Each backend (llama.cpp, whisper.cpp, stable-diffusion.cpp, FastFlowLM and others) is downloaded separately under its own licence
Tools exposednone6
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesno
Last release2026-08-122026-10-07
Terms last updated2026-08-26no document linked
Privacy policy last updated2026-08-26no document linked
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyes
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryes
Popularity656 stars5.8k stars

Verdicts

Docker Model Runner

CI passes on the main branch, and Docker has published two security advisories with CVEs and fixed versions for the project. The API takes no credential, so any client or container that reaches it can pull, delete and run models, and the documentation has no OpenAPI file or error reference.

Lemonade

Apache 2.0, with weekly releases, installers for Windows, macOS and five Linux routes, and a six-tool MCP endpoint whose descriptions steer a caller away from accidental multi-gigabyte downloads. Authentication is off by default, the repository has no security policy, and the docs tell WebSocket clients to pass the key in the URL.

Before you call either

Docker Model Runner

  1. Use base URL http://localhost:12434/engines/v1 for OpenAI clients and http://localhost:12434 for Anthropic and Ollama clients. Any API key value is accepted
  2. In Docker Desktop, run docker desktop enable model-runner --tcp 12434 first. Host-side TCP is off by default
  3. From a container, call http://model-runner.docker.internal on Docker Desktop or http://172.17.0.1:12434 on Docker Engine
  4. Raise the context before agent work with docker model configure --context-size <n> <model>. The llama.cpp default is 4,096 tokens
  5. Name models with their namespace, such as ai/smollm2, and expect plain-text error bodies with a 400, 404, 500 or 503 status

Lemonade

  1. Call lemonade_list_models (or GET /v1/models) before naming a model. A wrong name with allow_download: true can start a multi-gigabyte download
  2. Send Authorization: Bearer <key> when the operator has set LEMONADE_API_KEY. /internal/* needs the admin key when one is set
  3. Use POST /v1/chat/completions for streamed tokens, embeddings and speech. The MCP endpoint ignores stream and has no embeddings or text-to-speech tool
  4. Pass output_dir to lemonade_generate_image and lemonade_omni to get file paths in place of inline base64. Writes stay inside the MCP media sandbox
  5. Read GET /v1/docs on the running server for the reference that matches its version. Weekly releases change behaviour

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Docker Model Runner or Lemonade?

Lemonade scores 63.8 (B) on agent readiness against Docker Model Runner's 57.1 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Docker Model Runner leads on reliability and transparency & trust.

Do Docker Model Runner and Lemonade need an API key?

Docker Model Runner needs no key. Lemonade needs an API key.

Can an agent call Docker Model Runner and Lemonade without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Docker Model Runner. No hosted endpoint is listed for Lemonade.

Are Docker Model Runner and Lemonade open source?

Yes. Docker Model Runner is open source (Apache-2.0 (server, CLI plugin and `dmr` binary). Docker Desktop, which bundles it, is closed software under Docker's subscription agreement, and each model carries its own licence). Lemonade is open source (Apache 2.0. Each backend (llama.cpp, whisper.cpp, stable-diffusion.cpp, FastFlowLM and others) is downloaded separately under its own licence).

Other comparisons with Docker Model Runner or Lemonade

Machine-readable

For companies

Do agents find, use and choose your tools?

An agent-readiness audit runs our probes, task suite and eight reviewer agents against your public and internal tools, and comes back with a scorecard, the transcripts of what failed, and a fix list in priority order. From $2,500, re-run included. We never take payment to move a rank. We do help companies earn one.

Get an auditSee a sample report