Needle Remote vs Second Brain
Needle Remote is an MCP server published by docker. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Second Brain is an MCP server published by ara-5. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-07. 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 Remote |  Second Brain |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: not stated No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.7.1 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 2 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 | Second Brain |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 2 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 0 |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-11-03 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (mcp.needle.app/mcp) | On your machine (mind-mri-second-brain) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 3, secrets among them: 1 |
| Licence (differs) | Apache-2.0 | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | Not stated | github.com/ara-5/mind-mri-agent-second-brain |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 5 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-11-03 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Status out of date: last check 2 days ago returned HTTP 301 | no remote endpoint we check |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.
Second Brain
Shared Graph-RAG memory for AI agents: markdown vault, wikilink recall, tasks, messaging.
How to run each
Needle Remote As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http needle https://mcp.needle.app/mcpRequires: NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
Second Brain As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "BRAIN_KEY=<YOUR_BRAIN_KEY>" --transport stdio second-brain -- npx -y mind-mri-second-brainRequires: BRAIN_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Needle Remote has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Only Needle Remote asks for
NEEDLE_API_KEY (secret)
Only Second Brain asks for
BRAIN_KEY (secret)BRAIN_PORTBRAIN_VAULT
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Needle Remote · What it can do: Second Brain · 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.