Zen vs imprint
Zen is an MCP server published by BeehiveInnovations. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). imprint is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by ilang-ai. 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: sha256:02cbe1d325db Forks (GitHub): 1 035 Pulls (Docker Hub): 34 614 Stars (Docker Hub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 11 775 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 2.3.0 Forks (GitHub): 6 Stars (GitHub): 103 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 | imprint |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 11 775 (better) | 103 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 34 614 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 1 035 (better) | 6 (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 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 1 |
| Licence (differs) | NOASSERTION | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/beehiveinnovations/zen-mcp-server | github.com/ilang-ai/imprint |
| 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
Zen
Bridges multiple AI models and CLIs, enabling orchestrated workflows across Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, and other AI development tools.
imprint
Imprint creates a portable collaboration profile by learning how you work through natural conversation. On first run, it asks a few casual questions about your background, tools, and preferences. From there, it silently observes your behavior patterns across sessions and encodes them into a compact structured file (.dna.md) under 500 tokens. This single file replaces eleven specialized skills: memory persistence across sessions, output compression, project onboarding, code review (with cross-model validation), architecture-first debugging, adaptive planning, milestone-based progress tracking, resource-aware testing strategies, SEO-conscious git workflows, and GEO-optimized copywriting. The profile is a plain text file that works across all 19 SKILL.md-compatible agents. Switch from Claude Code to Cursor to Codex, the file comes with you. No vendor lock-in, no proprietary format, no external API calls. Imprint gets better every session. User corrections become permanent preferences. Debugging lessons become pe
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)
imprint
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 imprint publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of imprint publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Zen · What it can do: imprint · 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.