Needle vs Clera
Needle is an MCP server published by needle-ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Docker MCP Catalog, Official MCP Registry). Clera is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Clera Labs, Inc.. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-15. 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 |  Needle | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:d3fd314f40c3 Forks (GitHub): 24 Pulls (Docker Hub): 12 220 Stars (Docker Hub): 1 Stars (GitHub): 106 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.0.1 Forks (GitHub): 24 Stars (GitHub): 106 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Community marketplace hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.0 Forks (GitHub): 491 Stars (GitHub): 1 576 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 | Needle | Clera |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 2 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 106 (worse) | 1 576 (better) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 12 220 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 24 (worse) | 491 (better) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-11-06 | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server or your machine | Remote server (mcp.getclera.com) |
| Transport (differs) | stdio, Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 7 | 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 (differs) | Not stated | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/needle-ai/needle-mcp | github.com/hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-plugins |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-11-14 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Responded 12 h ago, requires authentication | Responded 9 h ago, requires authentication |
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
Needle
Production-ready RAG service to search and retrieve data from your documents.
Clera
Search 210,000+ vetted startup candidates, review Clera's picks for your open roles, and request intros through Clera's hosted MCP.
How to run each
Needle As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "NEEDLE_API_KEY=<YOUR_NEEDLE_API_KEY>" --transport stdio needle-mcp -- docker run -i --rm -e NEEDLE_API_KEY mcp/needle-mcpRequires: NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
Clera As a Codex plugin
codex plugin marketplace add hashgraph-online/awesome-codex-pluginsCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Both endpoints responded at the last daily check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Clera publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of Clera publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Needle · What it can do: Clera · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. 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.