Obsidian vs Papertext
Obsidian is an MCP server published by MarkusPfundstein. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Papertext is an MCP server published by app.papertext.app. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-28. 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): 507 Pulls (Docker Hub): 147 231 Stars (Docker Hub): 31 Stars (GitHub): 4 506 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.1.0 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 | Papertext |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 4 506 | No figure on GitHub |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 147 231 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 507 | No figure on GitHub |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/obsidian) | Remote server (app.papertext.app/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| 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/jhytabest/papertext |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | Not responding since 2026-10-15 |
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.
Papertext
Academic literature search, retrieval, and private library management on top of OpenAlex.
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)
Papertext As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http papertext-mcp https://app.papertext.app/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Papertext has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Papertext publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of Papertext publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Obsidian · What it can do: Papertext · 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.