Paper Search vs refcheck
Paper Search is an MCP server published by openags. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). refcheck is an MCP server published by benchoi93. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-15. 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:19d0af269a55 Forks (GitHub): 299 Pulls (Docker Hub): 45 300 Stars (Docker Hub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 2 829 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.1.0 Downloads/month (PyPI): 98 Downloads/week (PyPI): 22 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 | refcheck |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 829 | No figure on GitHub |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 45 300 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 299 | No figure on GitHub |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/paper-search) | On your machine (refcheck-mcp) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 57 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 5, secrets among them: 4 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/openags/paper-search-mcp | github.com/umn-choi-lab/refcheck |
| 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
Paper Search
MCP, CLI, Skills for searching and downloading academic papers from multiple sources like arXiv, PubMed, bioRxiv, etc.
refcheck
Verify academic citations against real databases. Catches hallucinated references, exports BibTeX.
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-searchrefcheck As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN=<YOUR_ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN>" --env "ELSEVIER_KEY=<YOUR_ELSEVIER_KEY>" --env "IEEE_API_KEY=<YOUR_IEEE_API_KEY>" --env "S2_API_KEY=<YOUR_S2_API_KEY>" --transport stdio refcheck -- uvx refcheck-mcpRequires: ELSEVIER_INSTTOKEN (secret), ELSEVIER_KEY (secret), IEEE_API_KEY (secret), S2_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of refcheck publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of Paper Search publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Paper Search · What it can do: refcheck · 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.