Comparison

Needle vs io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server

Needle is an MCP server published by needle-ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server is an MCP server published by cyanheads. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-22. 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

Where each is published
Marketplace	Needle	io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:d3fd314f40c3 Forks (GitHub): 24 Pulls (Docker Hub): 11 693 Stars (Docker Hub): 1 Stars (GitHub): 104 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Official MCP Registry	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.3.9 Downloads/month (npm): 875 Downloads/week (npm): 330 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 2 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11

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

Needle vs io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server
Fact	Needle	io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server
Marketplaces that list it	1	1
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	104 (better)	2 (worse)
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	11 693	No figure on Docker Hub
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	24 (better)	0 (worse)
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-18
Where it runs (differs)	On your machine (mcp/needle-mcp)	Remote server (smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp)
Transport (differs)	stdio	Streamable HTTP
Tools it declares (differs)	7	Not published
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	1, secrets among them: 1	7, secrets among them: 0
Licence (differs)	MIT	Not stated
Repository (differs)	github.com/needle-ai/needle-mcp	github.com/cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server
Changes in the last 7 days (differs)	0	1
First seen	2026-10-11	2026-10-11
Endpoint at the last check (differs)	no remote endpoint we check	Responded 4 days ago

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

In its own words, on Docker MCP Catalog:

Production-ready RAG service to search and retrieve data from your documents.

io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

Search 14.5M Smithsonian Open Access objects, get CC0 images, find cross-collection connections.

How to run each

Needle As a local MCP server: Docker image

Claude Code

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-mcp

Requires: NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)

io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server As a remote MCP server

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http smithsonian-mcp-server https://smithsonian.caseyjhand.com/mcp

Requires: SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Only io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints

Tools each declares

Only Needle has

needle_add_file
needle_create_collection
needle_get_collection_details
needle_get_collection_stats
needle_list_collections
needle_list_files
needle_search

Only io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server has

smithsonian_browse_category
smithsonian_find_related
smithsonian_get_media
smithsonian_get_object
smithsonian_list_terms
smithsonian_search_objects

Both have

None

Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server as of 2026-10-22). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

Only Needle asks for

NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)

Only io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server asks for

MCP_AUTH_MODE
MCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATH
MCP_HTTP_HOST
MCP_HTTP_PORT
MCP_LOG_LEVEL
MCP_TRANSPORT_TYPE
SMITHSONIAN_API_KEY

Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.

What it can do: Needle · What it can do: io.github.cyanheads/smithsonian-mcp-server · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-10-22. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.