Zen vs sdlc-skills
Zen is an MCP server published by BeehiveInnovations. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Docker MCP Catalog). sdlc-skills is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by TsCarpe. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-10. 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:02cbe1d325db Forks (GitHub): 1 036 Pulls (Docker Hub): 35 671 Stars (Docker Hub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 11 834 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Community marketplace tscarpe/claude-sdlc-skills | Not listed | Listed Version: not stated Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 66 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 | sdlc-skills |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 11 834 (better) | 66 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 35 671 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 1 036 (better) | 0 (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 | 10 |
| Licence (differs) | NOASSERTION | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/beehiveinnovations/zen-mcp-server | github.com/tscarpe/claude-sdlc-skills |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-11-09 |
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.
sdlc-skills
Ten battle-tested SDLC skills: sdlc-intent (PRD digest + seven-layer audit + A/B/C risk tiering), sdlc-design (technical design: alternatives, tiered interface contracts, shared assets, C/H decisions, slicing constraints), sdlc-test (cases/dev/static/exec/spec/report with human checkpoints), sdlc-gate (risk-tiered adversarial review gate: 4/2 fresh-context subagents or self-check, plus guard_dev), sdlc-doubt (adversarial re-check of non-trivial decisions), sdlc-ui-visual (design-to-code visual restoration via screenshots: DOM geometry + pixel heatmap + tiered fix rounds), sdlc-release-check (pre-release audit: config keys, job/MQ registrations, DDL/DML grading, runbook), sdlc-guardrails (write-time red-line engine: PostToolUse hook + pre-commit + baseline scan), sdlc-sync (artifact sync bridge between local markdown and the team-facing platform), sdlc-handoff (cross-agent session handoff: self-contained card, drift check, direct takeover).
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)
sdlc-skills As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add tscarpe/claude-sdlc-skills
/plugin install sdlc-skills@claude-sdlc-skillsCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of sdlc-skills publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of sdlc-skills publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Zen · What it can do: sdlc-skills · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.