Perplexity vs Darwin RAG
Perplexity is an MCP server published by perplexityai. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Darwin RAG is an MCP server published by Brightdotdev. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-12. 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 |  Darwin RAG | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:7816f45a6f26 Forks (GitHub): 380 Pulls (Docker Hub): 79 799 Stars (Docker Hub): 17 Stars (GitHub): 2 562 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.18 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 1 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 | Perplexity | Darwin RAG |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 2 562 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 79 799 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 380 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/perplexity-ask) | On your machine (darwin-rag) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 4, secrets among them: 3 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ppl-ai/modelcontextprotocol | github.com/brightdotdev/darwin |
| 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
Perplexity
Connector for Perplexity API, to enable real-time, web-wide research.
Darwin RAG
Local-first RAG engine with MCP server for AI agent integration.
How to run each
Perplexity As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=<YOUR_PERPLEXITY_API_KEY>" --transport stdio perplexity-ask -- docker run -i --rm -e PERPLEXITY_API_KEY mcp/perplexity-askRequires: PERPLEXITY_API_KEY (secret)
Darwin RAG As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=<YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY>" --env "GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>" --env "OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>" --transport stdio darwin-rag -- uvx darwin-ragRequires: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (secret), GEMINI_API_KEY (secret), OPENAI_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 Darwin RAG publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only Perplexity asks for
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY (secret)
Only Darwin RAG asks for
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (secret)DARWIN_BASE_DIRGEMINI_API_KEY (secret)OPENAI_API_KEY (secret)
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Perplexity · What it can do: Darwin RAG · 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.