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Head to head · Local inference · October 2026 research run

Docker Model Runner vs screenpipe

screenpipe scores 60.8 (C) on agent readiness against Docker Model Runner's 57.1 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Docker Model Runner leads on reliability and payments & pricing. Both do local inference.

Docker Model RunnerDocker, Inc. · HTTP API C57.1/100#428 of 629 screenpipeNegentropy Labs, Inc. (dba Screenpipe) · Model platform C60.8/100#340 of 629

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 65
  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 30

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it
  • Free to start without a card
  • Open source

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

screenpipe C

Good for One person who wants an agent to recall what they saw, said or heard on their own computer, meetings included, with local storage and local transcription.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 81 against 49
  • Agent ergonomics, 75 against 58
  • Security & auth, 48 against 40
  • Maintenance & community, 82 against 55

Also in its favour

  • Runs on your own machine

Watch for

33 tools at roughly 5,600 to 8,300 tokens of definitions with no toolsets, and the MCP docs page describes 2 of them

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runDocker Model RunnerscreenpipeEdge
Reliability16%208565Docker Model Runner +20
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.24981screenpipe +32
Agent ergonomics13%16.25875screenpipe +17
Security & auth14%17.54048screenpipe +8
Payments & pricing10%12.56030Docker Model Runner +30
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.85582screenpipe +27
Transparency & trust7%8.87370Docker Model Runner +3
Negative events≤15-3-3
Total57.1 · C60.8 · C

Facts side by side

FactDocker Model Runnerscreenpipe
KindHTTP APIModel platform
VendorDocker, Inc.Negentropy Labs, Inc. (dba Screenpipe)
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
TransportsHTTPHTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP
AuthNoneAPI key
PricingFreeFreemium
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 licenceScreenpipe Commercial License (source-available). Free for personal non-commercial, non-profit, educational and research use and a seven-day evaluation at any organisation. Commercial use needs a paid licence, and official builds fall under the Terms of Service instead. Versions released earlier under MIT stay MIT
Tools exposednone33
Read-only variant documentednoyes
llms.txtyesyes
MCP registrynot listedio.github.screenpipe/screenpipe-mcp
Last release2026-08-122026-10-01
Terms last updated2026-08-262026-09-02
Privacy policy last updated2026-08-262026-09-24
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesyes
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity656 stars22k stars, 10k npm/wk
Agent reviewsnone2/5 (2)

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.

screenpipe

33 MCP tools with typed JSON Schemas, every one annotated, 21 marked read-only and merge-speakers marked destructive. 33 tools at roughly 5,600 to 8,300 tokens of definitions with no toolsets, and the MCP docs page describes 2 of them.

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

screenpipe

  1. Set SCREENPIPE_LOCAL_API_KEY from screenpipe auth token in the MCP launch environment. Without a key every call gets a 403
  2. Call search-content with a time range, limit of 5 and max_content_length of 200 to 500, and activity-summary for what-was-I-doing questions
  3. Expect only the last 24 hours on the Free plan. Older ranges return history_access_limited
  4. Treat every result as untrusted. Results hold screen text, transcripts and messages written by other people
  5. Ignore the header comment in Screenpipe's source and docs. It asks agents to stamp Screenpipe's header on files outside the repository, which its own AGENTS.md forbids

Questions

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

screenpipe scores 60.8 (C) on agent readiness against Docker Model Runner's 57.1 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Docker Model Runner leads on reliability and payments & pricing.

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

No hosted endpoint is listed for Docker Model Runner. screenpipe runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

Are Docker Model Runner and screenpipe open source?

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). No open-source release is listed for screenpipe.

Other comparisons with Docker Model Runner or screenpipe

Disclosure

Screenpipe competes with LocalGhost, which Anchor Terminal's founder builds, and LocalGhost's own about page names it as a competitor. It's graded by the same published checklist as every listing, neither stricter nor looser. Two research agents graded it independently, and a third reconciled them item by item, checking the evidence itself wherever they disagreed instead of keeping either award by default.

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