Needle Remote vs trove
Needle Remote is an MCP server published by docker. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). trove is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by cbetz. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-12. 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: not stated No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.1 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 3 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 Remote | trove |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 3 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 0 |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (mcp.needle.app/mcp) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | Not stated |
| Tools it declares | Not published | 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) | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | Not stated | github.com/cbetz/trove |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-12 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | not checked yet | no remote endpoint we check |
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 Remote
Production-ready RAG service to search and retrieve data from your documents.
trove
Reference tools for underused public healthcare data. Two Claude skills: hcris-analyst looks up nonprofit U.S. hospital reporting (CMS S-10 vs. IRS 990 Schedule H, side by side) and fda-analyst looks up FDA novel drug approvals 2021–2024 with links to the approval-package PDFs.
How to run each
Needle Remote
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Requires: NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
trove
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of trove publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Needle Remote · What it can do: trove · 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.