Zen vs bulkhead
Zen is an MCP server published by BeehiveInnovations. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). bulkhead is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by dooly6276. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Community GitHub marketplaces, Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-15. 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 |  Zen |  bulkhead |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:02cbe1d325db Forks (GitHub): 1 038 Pulls (Docker Hub): 35 777 Stars (Docker Hub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 11 838 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Copilot CLI: github/awesome-copilot | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.3.7 Forks (GitHub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 34 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 | Zen | bulkhead |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 11 838 (better) | 34 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 35 777 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 1 038 (better) | 5 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (mcp/zen) | Installs as a plugin bundle |
| Transport (differs) | stdio | Not stated |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 18 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 4, secrets among them: 4 | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | Not published | 15 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 15 |
| Licence (differs) | NOASSERTION | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/beehiveinnovations/zen-mcp-server | github.com/dooly6276/claude-bulkhead |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 4 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-11-12 |
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
Zen
Bridges multiple AI models and CLIs, enabling orchestrated workflows across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, and other AI development tools.
bulkhead
PreToolUse hooks that keep several Claude Code sessions running on one machine from colliding. Blocks kills by program name (pkill node, taskkill /IM node.exe) and kills that reach another session's processes, dev servers on a port another session uses, heavy commands when RAM is low, git checkout, stash, add -A and commit -a in a tree another session works in, and whole-disk scans such as du -sh ~. Stops servers left by finished sessions. bulkhead scan replays the shell commands in your past transcripts against the guards, read-only, with nothing sent anywhere. Blocks return the reason and an alternative command to the agent; only the user can allow a blocked command, and a repository's own config can only make the guards stricter. It parses command strings and is not a sandbox. Node only, no dependencies.
How to run each
Zen As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_GEMINI_API_KEY>" --env "OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY>" --env "OPENROUTER_API_KEY=<YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY>" --env "XAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_XAI_API_KEY>" --transport stdio zen -- docker run -i --rm -e GEMINI_API_KEY -e OPENAI_API_KEY -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY -e XAI_API_KEY mcp/zenRequires: GEMINI_API_KEY (secret), OPENAI_API_KEY (secret), OPENROUTER_API_KEY (secret), XAI_API_KEY (secret)
bulkhead As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add davepoon/buildwithclaude
/plugin install bulkhead@buildwithclaudeCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of bulkhead publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of bulkhead publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Zen · What it can do: bulkhead · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/github/awesome-copilot/blob/HEAD/.github/plugin/marketplace.json. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.