The fastest way to run MockServer is a single command — pick whichever fits your environment. Every option below starts a server that mocks and proxies HTTP and HTTPS on one port (default 1080):

# Docker — no Java required
docker run -p 1080:1080 mockserver/mockserver

# Node — no Java and no Docker (downloads a self-contained bundle)
npx -p mockserver-node mockserver run -p 1080

# Homebrew (macOS / Linux)
brew install mockserver && mockserver run -p 1080

Confirm it is up (the status endpoint returns 200 once MockServer is ready):

curl -i -X PUT http://localhost:1080/mockserver/status

MockServer is flexible and support numerous usage patterns.

MockServer can be run:

• programmatically via a Java API in an @Before or @After method
• using a JUnit 4 @Rule via a @Rule annotated field in a JUnit 4 test
• using a JUnit 5 Test Extension via a @ExtendWith annotated JUnit 5 class
• using a Spring Test Execution Listener via a @MockServerTest annotated test class
• as a Docker container in any Docker enabled environment
• via a Helm chart in any Kubernetes environment
• from the command line as a stand-alone process in a test environment
• via a Maven Plugin as part of a Maven build cycle
• as a Node.js (npm) module from any Node.js code
• as a Grunt plugin as part of a Grunt build cycle
• as a deployable WAR to an existing application server
• via a client library binary launcher (Node, Python, Ruby, Go, .NET, Rust) — downloads a cross-platform, JVM-less binary bundle automatically
• as a throwaway Testcontainers container started and stopped automatically by your test run
• as a shared, centralised deployment across multiple teams or CI pipelines — another good option when several projects share one running MockServer

To simplify configuration, all versions (except the deployable WAR) use a single port to support the control plane and data plane in HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS.

Keeping tests fast: for the patterns that keep test suites quick — one container per suite with reset() between tests, container reuse, memory limits, and in-process alternatives for JVM tests — see Fast Tests: Startup Time, Memory and Reuse.

MockServer is available in the following formats:

• java dependency
• Docker container
• Helm chart for Kubernetes
• executable jar
• Homebrew package
• maven plugin
• npm plugin
• Grunt plugin
• deployable WAR that runs on JEE web servers
• client library binary bundle — a self-contained, cross-platform binary (no Java required) downloaded automatically by the Node, Python, Ruby, Go, .NET, and Rust clients

It is also possible to build and run MockServer directly from source code