Ref - Up-To-Date Docs vs mcp-skill-search
Ref - Up-To-Date Docs is an MCP server published by ref-tools. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). mcp-skill-search is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by PettHa. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). 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 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:8b5fcfe3e4e1 Forks (GitHub): 71 Pulls (Docker Hub): 19 070 Stars (Docker Hub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 1 180 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.0 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 | Ref - Up-To-Date Docs | mcp-skill-search |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 180 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 19 070 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 71 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/ref-tools-mcp) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 2 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 2 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp | github.com/pettha/mcp-skill-search |
| 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
Ref - Up-To-Date Docs
Ref powerful search tool connets your coding tools with documentation context. It includes an up-to-date index of public documentation and it can ingest your private documentation (eg. GitHub repos, PDFs) as well.
mcp-skill-search
A "ToolSearch for skills" — searches your SKILL.md files by keyword, exact name, or required-term filter so the model can fetch full skill descriptions on demand. Mirrors Claude Code's internal ToolSearch scoring algorithm 1:1, but for skills instead of MCP tools. Pairs with two bundled slash-commands: /optimize-skill-context sets SLASH_COMMAND_TOOL_CHAR_BUDGET=1 to free Claude Code's ~1% skill-description budget (forcing names-only mode), and /restore-skill-descriptions reverses it. Slash-commands keep working; descriptions are fetched on demand via skill_search when relevant. Repo-aware: skills under the current git-root's .claude/skills/ get a +5 score boost over same-named skills from other repos, so search ranking respects which project you're working in.
How to run each
Ref - Up-To-Date Docs As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "REF_API_KEY=<YOUR_REF_API_KEY>" --transport stdio ref -- docker run -i --rm -e REF_API_KEY mcp/ref-tools-mcpRequires: REF_API_KEY (secret)
mcp-skill-search
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of mcp-skill-search publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of mcp-skill-search publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Ref - Up-To-Date Docs · What it can do: mcp-skill-search · 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.