Elasticsearch vs elastic-sense
Elasticsearch is an MCP server published by elastic. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). elastic-sense is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by ahmidbbc. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-13. 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 |  Elasticsearch |  elastic-sense |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:9c978b8277e3 Forks (GitHub): 159 Pulls (Docker Hub): 45 335 Stars (Docker Hub): 17 Stars (GitHub): 718 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.2.2 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 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 | Elasticsearch | elastic-sense |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 718 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 45 335 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 159 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/elasticsearch) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 5 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 1 | 5, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 5 |
| Licence (differs) | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/elastic/mcp-server-elasticsearch | github.com/ahmidbbc/elastic-sense |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
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
Elasticsearch
Interact with your Elasticsearch indices through natural language conversations.
elastic-sense
ElasticSense is a Claude Code plugin for Elastic workflows. It uses Elastic Agent Builder as the primary integration path and offers a deprecated legacy_direct fallback for environments that cannot expose the Agent Builder MCP endpoint yet. For end users, the setup flow stays the same in both modes: install the plugin, fill the Claude userConfig prompts, then ask Claude for Elastic investigations in natural language. The mode only changes which backend the plugin starts behind the scenes.
How to run each
Elasticsearch As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "ES_API_KEY=<YOUR_ES_API_KEY>" --transport stdio elasticsearch -- docker run -i --rm -e ES_API_KEY mcp/elasticsearchRequires: ES_API_KEY (secret)
elastic-sense As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install elastic-sense@claude-communityCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of elastic-sense publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only Elasticsearch asks for
ES_API_KEY (secret)ES_URL
Only elastic-sense asks for
ELASTIC_API_KEY (secret)ELASTIC_MCP_URLLEGACY_ES_SSL_SKIP_VERIFYLEGACY_ES_URLUSE_LEGACY_DIRECT_MODE
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Elasticsearch · What it can do: elastic-sense · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.