Chroma vs ch-ui
Chroma is an MCP server published by chroma-core. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). ch-ui is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Caio Ricciuti. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-15. This pair was picked by a reader, not by our comparison rule, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace |  Chroma | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:c050ca8e1d4e Forks (GitHub): 117 Pulls (Docker Hub): 59 494 Stars (Docker Hub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 599 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Community marketplace caioricciuti/ch-ui | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 71 Stars (GitHub): 721 Not marked · First seen |
Each figure is the marketplace's own and is never added up across marketplaces. A marketplace that publishes no figure shows none: no number is not zero.
The facts side by side
| Fact | Chroma | ch-ui |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 599 (worse) | 721 (better) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 59 494 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 117 (better) | 71 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/chroma) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 13 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 2 |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/chroma-core/chroma-mcp | github.com/caioricciuti/ch-ui |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-15 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. Where the data itself says which value is better (more marketplaces, a larger figure of the same marketplace, a fresher release, a verified mark on a marketplace that lists both), the better one is also marked green with ▲ and the worse one red with ▼. Where it runs, the transport, the tools, the settings, hooks, the bundle's parts, the licence and the week's changes are marked only as different: more or fewer is not better in itself.
What each says it does
Chroma
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server implementation that provides database capabilities for Chroma.
ch-ui
CH-UI MCP server connection plus a ClickHouse analytics skill.
How to run each
Chroma As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "CHROMA_API_KEY=<YOUR_CHROMA_API_KEY>" --transport stdio chroma -- docker run -i --rm -e CHROMA_API_KEY mcp/chromaRequires: CHROMA_API_KEY (secret)
ch-ui As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add caioricciuti/ch-ui
/plugin install ch-ui@ch-uiCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of ch-ui publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of ch-ui publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Chroma · What it can do: ch-ui · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.