diff --git a/cognee/api/v1/ui/ui.py b/cognee/api/v1/ui/ui.py
index 2c3687e16..d0f109393 100644
--- a/cognee/api/v1/ui/ui.py
+++ b/cognee/api/v1/ui/ui.py
@@ -502,20 +502,22 @@ def start_ui(
 
     if start_mcp:
         logger.info("Starting Cognee MCP server with Docker...")
-        cwd = os.getcwd()
-        env_file = os.path.join(cwd, ".env")
         try:
             image = "cognee/cognee-mcp:main"
             subprocess.run(["docker", "pull", image], check=True)
 
+            import uuid
+
+            container_name = f"cognee-mcp-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
+
             docker_cmd = [
                 "docker",
                 "run",
+                "--name",
+                container_name,
                 "-p",
                 f"{mcp_port}:8000",
                 "--rm",
-                "--env-file",
-                env_file,
                 "-e",
                 "TRANSPORT_MODE=sse",
             ]
@@ -531,6 +533,10 @@ def start_ui(
                     f"Configuring MCP to connect to backend API at http://localhost:{backend_port}"
                 )
                 logger.info("(localhost will be auto-converted to host.docker.internal)")
+            else:
+                cwd = os.getcwd()
+                env_file = os.path.join(cwd, ".env")
+                docker_cmd.extend(["--env-file", env_file])
 
             docker_cmd.append("cognee/cognee-mcp:main")
 
@@ -544,7 +550,8 @@ def start_ui(
             _stream_process_output(mcp_process, "stdout", "[MCP]", "\033[34m")  # Blue
             _stream_process_output(mcp_process, "stderr", "[MCP]", "\033[34m")  # Blue
 
-            pid_callback(mcp_process.pid)
+            # Pass both PID and container name using a tuple
+            pid_callback((mcp_process.pid, container_name))
 
             mode_info = "API mode" if start_backend else "direct mode"
             logger.info(
diff --git a/cognee/cli/_cognee.py b/cognee/cli/_cognee.py
index b257d37de..9008d68e3 100644
--- a/cognee/cli/_cognee.py
+++ b/cognee/cli/_cognee.py
@@ -175,12 +175,40 @@ def main() -> int:
     # Handle UI flag
     if hasattr(args, "start_ui") and args.start_ui:
         spawned_pids = []
+        docker_container = None
 
         def signal_handler(signum, frame):
             """Handle Ctrl+C and other termination signals"""
-            nonlocal spawned_pids
+            nonlocal spawned_pids, docker_container
             fmt.echo("\nShutting down UI server...")
 
+            # First, stop Docker container if running
+            if docker_container:
+                try:
+                    fmt.echo(f"Stopping Docker container {docker_container}...")
+                    result = subprocess.run(
+                        ["docker", "stop", docker_container],
+                        capture_output=True,
+                        timeout=10,
+                        check=False,
+                    )
+                    if result.returncode == 0:
+                        fmt.success(f"✓ Docker container {docker_container} stopped.")
+                    else:
+                        fmt.warning(
+                            f"Could not stop container {docker_container}: {result.stderr.decode()}"
+                        )
+                except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+                    fmt.warning(
+                        f"Timeout stopping container {docker_container}, forcing removal..."
+                    )
+                    subprocess.run(
+                        ["docker", "rm", "-f", docker_container], capture_output=True, check=False
+                    )
+                except Exception as e:
+                    fmt.warning(f"Could not stop Docker container {docker_container}: {e}")
+
+            # Then, stop regular processes
             for pid in spawned_pids:
                 try:
                     if hasattr(os, "killpg"):
@@ -209,10 +237,16 @@ def main() -> int:
 
             fmt.echo("Starting cognee UI...")
 
-            # Callback to capture PIDs of all spawned processes
-            def pid_callback(pid):
-                nonlocal spawned_pids
-                spawned_pids.append(pid)
+            # Callback to capture PIDs and Docker container of all spawned processes
+            def pid_callback(pid_or_tuple):
+                nonlocal spawned_pids, docker_container
+                # Handle both regular PIDs and (PID, container_name) tuples
+                if isinstance(pid_or_tuple, tuple):
+                    pid, container_name = pid_or_tuple
+                    spawned_pids.append(pid)
+                    docker_container = container_name
+                else:
+                    spawned_pids.append(pid_or_tuple)
 
             frontend_port = 3000
             start_backend, backend_port = True, 8000