Paper Search vs thesis-engine
Paper Search is an MCP server published by openags. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). thesis-engine is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by estevanhernandez-stack-ed. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-13. 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 |  Paper Search |  thesis-engine |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:19d0af269a55 Forks (GitHub): 294 Pulls (Docker Hub): 45 176 Stars (Docker Hub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 2 803 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: ebc2068 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 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 | Paper Search | thesis-engine |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 803 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 45 176 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 294 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/paper-search) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 57 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/openags/paper-search-mcp | github.com/estevanhernandez-stack-ed/thesis-engine |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-12 |
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
Paper Search
MCP, CLI, Skills for searching and downloading academic papers from multiple sources like arXiv, PubMed, bioRxiv, etc.
thesis-engine
Research feeder for thesis and long-form writing. thesis-engine does the cold-start work before you can write: it scans a field for live, low-competition topics, gathers primary sources across five research axes, and emits research notes plus a BibTeX bibliography ready to drop into a thesis project. An optional stage adapts the same research into a Smart Brevity blog draft. Four commands across three stages: discover, write, run, and blog. Pairs with vibe-thesis — the engine feeds, the thesis tooling drafts.
How to run each
Paper Search As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --transport stdio paper-search -- docker run -i --rm mcp/paper-searchthesis-engine As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install thesis-engine@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 thesis-engine publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: Paper Search · What it can do: thesis-engine · 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.