Ah, this is a classic case of configuration mismatch. The issue is likely that your local Prefect client can't properly communicate with your Docker-hosted server. Let me help you resolve this. Here's what you need to check: 1. Server Configuration Make sure your Docker container is exposing the Prefect server port (default 4200) correctly:

bash
   docker run -p 4200:4200 prefecthq/prefect:2-latest prefect server start --host 0.0.0.0

2. Client Configuration On your Windows machine, you need to set the API URL to point to your Docker server:

bash
   prefect config set PREFECT_API_URL="<http://localhost:4200/api>"

If your Docker is running on a different machine, replace

localhost

with the appropriate IP address or hostname. 3. Verify Connection You can verify the connection by running:

bash
   prefect server health-check

4. Check Work Pool Visibility Once connected, verify you can see the work pools:

bash
   prefect work-pool ls

If you're still not seeing the work pool after these steps, there are a few additional things to check: - Ensure your Docker container is running (

docker ps

) - Check if you can access the Prefect UI through your browser - Verify there are no firewalls blocking the connection - Make sure you're using the same Prefect profile that's configured with the correct API URL Would you like me to help troubleshoot any specific part of this setup? It would be helpful to know: 1. Can you access the Prefect UI from your Windows machine? 2. What's the output when you run

prefect config view

?

Let's systematically fix this. The empty work pool list suggests there's still a configuration mismatch. Here's what we need to do: 1. First, let's verify your current profile configuration:

bash
   prefect profile ls

This will show all available profiles and which one is active. 2. Set up a proper profile for your Docker server:

bash
   # Create a new profile (if needed)
   prefect profile create docker-server

   # Switch to it
   prefect profile use docker-server

   # Set the API URL
   prefect config set PREFECT_API_URL="<http://localhost:4200/api>"

3. Verify the configuration:

bash
   prefect config view

Make sure the PREFECT_API_URL is correctly pointing to your Docker server. 4. Test the connection:

bash
   prefect server health-check

If you're still not seeing the work pools after these steps, let's try to diagnose further: 1. Can you access the Prefect UI in your browser at

<http://localhost:4200>

? 2. When you look at the work pool in the UI, is it definitely created and active? 3. Try creating a new work pool from the command line to test:

bash
   prefect work-pool create test-pool

The fact that you switched profiles but still don't see the work pools suggests either: - The API URL isn't correctly configured in your current profile - There's a connection issue between your Windows machine and the Docker container - The work pools might not have been created properly in the UI Could you share: 1. The output of

prefect config view

after following these steps? 2. Whether you can access the Prefect UI in your browser? 3. Whether the work pool you created in the UI is visible there? This will help me provide more targeted assistance.

This is happening because your

PREFECT_API_URL

setting isn't persisting in your profile. Let's fix this step by step: 1. First, stop any running Prefect processes (including your Docker container) 2. Restart your Docker container with explicit port mapping:

bash
   docker run -d -p 4200:4200 prefecthq/prefect:2-latest prefect server start --host 0.0.0.0

3. Set up your profile properly (run these commands in your Windows terminal):

bash
   # Create a fresh profile
   prefect profile create docker-profile

   # Switch to it
   prefect profile use docker-profile

   # Set the API URL - this is crucial
   prefect config set PREFECT_API_URL="<http://localhost:4200/api>"

4. Verify the configuration stuck by running:

bash
   prefect config view

You should see

PREFECT_API_URL="<http://localhost:4200/api>"

in the output. 5. Test the connection:

bash
   prefect server health-check

This should NOT start a temporary server but instead connect to your Docker instance. If you're still seeing a temporary server start up, there might be an issue with: - Your Docker container not running - The port not being properly exposed - A firewall blocking the connection To troubleshoot: 1. Can you verify your Docker container is running?

bash
   docker ps

You should see the Prefect container running and port 4200 mapped. 2. Try accessing the Prefect UI in your browser: - Go to

<http://localhost:4200>

- If this doesn't work, there's likely an issue with your Docker container or port mapping Let me know what happens after following these steps, particularly: 1. What does

docker ps

show? 2. Can you access the UI in your browser? 3. What's the exact output of

prefect config view

? This will help us pinpoint exactly where the configuration is breaking down.

Let's fix this step by step: 1. First, stop any running Prefect containers:

bash
   docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter ancestor=prefecthq/prefect:2-latest)

2. Start the Prefect server with proper network configuration:

bash
   docker run -d --name prefect-server \
   -p 4200:4200 \
   --network bridge \
   prefecthq/prefect:2-latest \
   prefect server start --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4200

3. Verify the container is running and port is mapped:

bash
   docker ps

You should see the container running with port mapping

4200:4200

4. Check the container logs for any errors:

bash
   docker logs prefect-server

Look for any error messages or confirmation that the server started successfully 5. On your Windows machine, try these URLs in your browser: -

<http://localhost:4200>

- If that doesn't work, try

<http://127.0.0.1:4200>

6. Configure your local Prefect client:

bash
   prefect profile create docker-profile
   prefect profile use docker-profile
   prefect config set PREFECT_API_URL="<http://localhost:4200/api>"

If you still can't access the server, let's try some troubleshooting: 1. Check if the port is actually listening:

bash
   docker exec prefect-server netstat -tulpn | grep 4200

2. Verify Docker networking:

bash
   docker network ls

3. Test if the container can be reached:

bash
   curl <http://localhost:4200>

Additional considerations: - Are you using Docker Desktop for Windows? - Do you have any antivirus or firewall software that might be blocking the connection? - Are you running Docker through WSL2 or the legacy Hyper-V backend? Could you tell me: 1. What version of Docker are you using? 2. What happens when you try to access

<http://localhost:4200>

in your browser - do you get an error message? 3. What's the output of

docker ps

after starting the container with the commands above? This will help us narrow down whether this is a Docker networking issue or a Prefect configuration issue.