caveman vs Desktop Commander
caveman is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Alireza Rezvani. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). Desktop Commander is an MCP server published by wonderwhy-er. Marketplaces we read that list it: 7 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins, Claude Code: claude-plugins-community, Community GitHub marketplaces, npm registry (MCP servers)). 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 |   Desktop Commander | |
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace alirezarezvani/claude-skills | Listed Version: 2.14.9 Forks (GitHub): 4 090 Stars (GitHub): 29 522 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.3.2 Downloads/month (npm): 1 386 176 Downloads/week (npm): 637 017 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Pulls (Docker Hub): 244 457 Stars (Docker Hub): 22 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 Not marked · First seen |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.92 Downloads/month (npm): 1 864 Downloads/week (npm): 1 537 Forks (GitHub): 1 283 Stars (GitHub): 10 275 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 | caveman | Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 7 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 29 522 (better) | 10 275 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 244 457 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 4 090 (better) | 1 283 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-11-05 (worse) | 2026-11-10 (better) |
| 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) | 3 | 7 |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills | github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 1 | 2 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-14 | 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
caveman
Ultra-compressed communication mode. Cuts token usage 20-50% (75% upper bound) by dropping filler, articles, pleasantries, and hedging while keeping full technical accuracy. Derived from Matt Pocock's MIT-licensed caveman with: (1) 3 stdlib Python tools (deterministic compressor, token-savings estimator with $/Mtok cost extrapolation, lint that detects banned vocab with code-block + exception-zone whitelisting), (2) 3 references citing 7-8 sources (compression principles, when caveman backfires, companion tooling), (3) cs-caveman-mode persona agent + /cs-caveman slash command. Matt's persistence rules + auto-clarity exception preserved verbatim per MIT.
Desktop Commander
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
How to run each
caveman As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add alirezarezvani/claude-skills
/plugin install caveman@claude-code-skillsDesktop Commander As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commanderCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of caveman 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: caveman · 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. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.