Needle vs OrchestKit Docs MCP
Needle is an MCP server published by needle-ai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). OrchestKit Docs MCP is an MCP server published by yonatangross. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-19. 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 |  OrchestKit Docs MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:d3fd314f40c3 Forks (GitHub): 24 Pulls (Docker Hub): 11 660 Stars (Docker Hub): 1 Stars (GitHub): 104 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 10.0.0-beta.183 Forks (GitHub): 35 Stars (GitHub): 296 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 | OrchestKit Docs MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 104 (worse) | 296 (better) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 11 660 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 24 (worse) | 35 (better) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-19 |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/needle-mcp) | Remote server (orchestkit.yonyon.ai/api/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 7 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | Not published |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/needle-ai/needle-mcp | github.com/yonatangross/orchestkit |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 20 or more |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | Responded 23 h 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
Production-ready RAG service to search and retrieve data from your documents.
OrchestKit Docs MCP
Read-only MCP server for the OrchestKit docs: full-text search + Markdown fetch. No auth.
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)
OrchestKit Docs MCP As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http orchestkit https://orchestkit.yonyon.ai/api/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only OrchestKit Docs MCP has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Only Needle has
needle_add_fileneedle_create_collectionneedle_get_collection_detailsneedle_get_collection_statsneedle_list_collectionsneedle_list_filesneedle_search
Only OrchestKit Docs MCP has
orchestkit_docs_getorchestkit_docs_search
Both have
None
Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (OrchestKit Docs MCP as of 2026-10-16). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of OrchestKit Docs MCP publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Needle · What it can do: OrchestKit Docs MCP · 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 . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.