ctui vs Desktop Commander
ctui is no longer listed on any marketplace we read: these are its last known data, as of 2026‑10‑15.
ctui is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Aliaksandr Katkou. No marketplace we read lists it any more. 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 2026-10-23. A plugin in this pair is no longer listed on any marketplace we read, so search engines are asked not to index the page.
Where each is published
| Marketplace | ||
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace a1exk-dev/claude-tui | Removed on 2026-10-15 Version: 0.4.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.3.1 Downloads/month (npm): 966 995 Downloads/week (npm): 159 845 Forks (GitHub): 1 253 Stars (GitHub): 10 092 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 253 Stars (GitHub): 10 092 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 253 Pulls (Docker Hub): 238 387 Stars (Docker Hub): 22 Stars (GitHub): 10 092 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 253 Stars (GitHub): 10 092 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 253 Stars (GitHub): 10 092 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 | ctuino longer listed · | Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 0 | 6 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 0 | 10 092 |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 238 387 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 | 1 253 |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-22 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | Not published | 26 |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not published | 7 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/a1exk-dev/claude-tui | github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 1 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-11 |
Lines where the two differ have a tinted background and bold values. No value is marked better or worse: a plugin no marketplace lists any more is shown with its last known data, which we do not rank against current figures.
What to use instead of ctui
Plugins still listed whose own names, descriptions, tools and skills are closest in meaning to it. Comparable, not endorsed.
-
Persistent side panel for Claude Code sessions. Shows context screens, status dashboards, and ambient screensavers in a Textual TUI viewer.
-
Real-time statusline HUD for Claude Code - context health, tool activity, agent tracking, and todo progress
-
Skins for Claude Code: tool rows with icons, diff, table and Mermaid chart cards, a usage band and fifteen themes. /skin swaps them live.
-
Customizable multi-line status line for Claude Code — real-time session telemetry in your terminal. Shows remaining context window, rate limit countdown, git status, session…
-
Status line plugin for Claude Code: live view of model, context, cost, and rate limits with customizable widgets and themes.
-
Tint a Terminal.app window by project and brighten it when a Claude Code response finishes unseen; tabs sharing a window get a tab-title marker instead. Includes a…
What each says it does
ctui
A skin for the Claude Code TUI: a docked sidebar with git, context, limits, todo, skills, MCP and agent sections, plus agent and shell toasts and a /ctui menu for plugins and themes.
Desktop Commander
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
How to run each
ctui
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Desktop Commander As a local MCP server: npm package
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
The marketplaces of ctui publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: ctui · What it can do: Desktop Commander · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. 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 Docker MCP Catalog (desktop.docker.com/mcp/catalog) and Docker Hub. 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.