# Docker Model Runner vs MLX LM

> Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against MLX LM's 52.2 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MLX LM leads on maintenance & community. Both do local inference. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-09

Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against MLX LM's 52.2 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MLX LM leads on maintenance & community. Both do local inference.

- Docker Model Runner: grade C, 57.1/100, rank #559 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/docker-model-runner.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-model-runner.json
- MLX LM: grade D, 52.2/100, rank #657 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mlx-lm.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mlx-lm.json

## 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 66
- Schema & documentation, 49 against 37
- Security & auth, 40 against 32
- Transparency & trust, 73 against 66

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

### MLX LM (D)

Good for: An owner with an Apple silicon Mac who wants MLX-format models, local fine-tuning and quantisation from Python or the command line, with a simple local chat completions server.

Ahead on:
- Maintenance & community, 61 against 55

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Docker Model Runner loses 3 points for them

Watch for: `mlx_lm.server` has no API key or other credential option, and `--allowed-origins` defaults to `*`


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Docker Model Runner | MLX LM | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 66 | Docker Model Runner +19 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 49 | 37 | Docker Model Runner +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 58 | 54 | Docker Model Runner +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 40 | 32 | Docker Model Runner +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 61 | MLX LM +6 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 66 | Docker Model Runner +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **57.1 · C** | **52.2 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Docker Model Runner | MLX LM |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Docker, Inc. | Apple Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | 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 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-08-12 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-26 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-26 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 656 stars | 7.3k stars, 140k PyPI/wk |

## 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.

**MLX LM.** MIT, with no telemetry found in the source, and the tests passed on the last eight pushes to main. `mlx_lm.server` has no API key option, answers any origin by default and loads whichever model a request names, and its own docs say it is not recommended for production.

## 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

### MLX LM

1. Keep `mlx_lm.server` on 127.0.0.1 and pass `--allowed-origins` with the origins you trust. There is no API key, and the default answers every origin
2. Treat any caller as able to load any model. The `model` and `adapters` request fields accept any Hugging Face repository or local path
3. Send `max_tokens` or `max_completion_tokens` when you need more than 512 tokens, the server default
4. Read errors as `{"error": "<text>"}` with 400 for a bad field and 404 for a model that failed to load. They are not OpenAI error objects
5. Poll `GET /health` before the first request. It answers 503 with `unavailable` when the generation thread has stopped

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Docker Model Runner or MLX LM?

Docker Model Runner scores 57.1 (C) on agent readiness against MLX LM's 52.2 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MLX LM leads on maintenance & community.

### Do Docker Model Runner and MLX LM need an API key?

Neither needs a key.

### Can an agent call Docker Model Runner and MLX LM without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Docker Model Runner. No hosted endpoint is listed for MLX LM.

### Are Docker Model Runner and MLX LM 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). MLX LM is open source (MIT).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-mlx-lm.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-model-runner-vs-mlx-lm.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "docker-model-runner", "b": "mlx-lm"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare docker-model-runner mlx-lm`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-model-runner.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mlx-lm.json

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