Obsidian vs second-brain
Obsidian is an MCP server published by MarkusPfundstein. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). second-brain is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by ORG028658. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). 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
| Marketplace |   Obsidian | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:0eba4c05742a Forks (GitHub): 508 Pulls (Docker Hub): 144 909 Stars (Docker Hub): 31 Stars (GitHub): 4 484 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 906be7b No figure published 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 | Obsidian | second-brain |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 4 484 | No figure on GitHub |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 144 909 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 508 | No figure on GitHub |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/obsidian) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 12 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 1 | Not published |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/markuspfundstein/mcp-obsidian | github.com/org028658/thesecondbrain |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
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
Obsidian
MCP server that interacts with Obsidian via the Obsidian rest API community plugin.
second-brain
A personal knowledge vault that compounds over time. Drop sources into raw/ and Claude writes a structured, interlinked wiki — extracting concepts, entities, and key learnings that persist across every session.
How to run each
Obsidian As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY=<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY>" --transport stdio obsidian -- docker run -i --rm -e OBSIDIAN_API_KEY mcp/obsidianRequires: OBSIDIAN_API_KEY (secret)
second-brain As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install second-brain@claude-communityCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of second-brain publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of second-brain publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Obsidian · 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 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.