Comparison

Ref - Up-To-Date Docs vs Desktop Commander

Ref - Up-To-Date Docs is an MCP server published by ref-tools. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). Desktop Commander is an MCP server published by wonderwhy-er. Marketplaces we read that list it: 6 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins, Claude Code: claude-plugins-community, Community GitHub marketplaces). 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

Where each is published
Marketplace	Ref - Up-To-Date Docs	Desktop Commander
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:8b5fcfe3e4e1 Forks (GitHub): 71 Pulls (Docker Hub): 19 086 Stars (Docker Hub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 1 180 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 272 Pulls (Docker Hub): 236 074 Stars (Docker Hub): 22 Stars (GitHub): 10 050 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Official MCP Registry	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.3.0 Downloads/month (npm): 926 846 Downloads/week (npm): 204 381 Forks (GitHub): 1 272 Stars (GitHub): 10 050 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 272 Stars (GitHub): 10 050 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Claude: knowledge-work-plugins	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 272 Stars (GitHub): 10 050 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11
Claude Code: claude-plugins-community	Not listed	Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 272 Stars (GitHub): 10 050 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11

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

Ref - Up-To-Date Docs vs Desktop Commander
Fact	Ref - Up-To-Date Docs	Desktop Commander
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	1 (worse)	6 (better)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	1 180 (worse)	10 050 (better)
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	19 086 (worse)	236 074 (better)
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	71 (worse)	1 272 (better)
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-13
Where it runs (differs)	On your machine (mcp/ref-tools-mcp)	On your machine (@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander)
Transport	stdio	stdio
Tools it declares (differs)	2	26
Environment variables it asks for (differs)	1, secrets among them: 1	Not published
Parts of the bundle (differs)	Not a bundle	7
Licence	MIT	MIT
Repository (differs)	github.com/ref-tools/ref-tools-mcp	github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp
Changes in the last 7 days (differs)	0	3
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

In its own words, on Docker MCP Catalog:

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.

Desktop Commander

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management

How to run each

Ref - Up-To-Date Docs As a local MCP server: Docker image

Claude Code

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-mcp

Requires: REF_API_KEY (secret)

Desktop Commander As a local MCP server: npm package

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport stdio desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander

Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.

Tools each declares

Only Ref - Up-To-Date Docs declares

ref_read_url
ref_search_documentation

Only Desktop Commander declares

create_directory
edit_block
force_terminate
get_config
get_file_info
get_more_search_results
get_prompts
get_recent_tool_calls
get_usage_stats
give_feedback_to_desktop_commander
interact_with_process
kill_process

Show the remaining 14

list_directory
list_processes
list_searches
list_sessions
move_file
read_file
read_multiple_files
read_process_output
set_config_value
start_process
start_search
stop_search
write_file
write_pdf

Both declare

None

Tool names as each marketplace publishes them. More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

The marketplaces of Desktop Commander 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: Desktop Commander · 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. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-10-15. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.