shoal vs Desktop Commander
shoal is no longer listed on any marketplace we read: these are its last known data, as of 2026‑10‑16.
shoal is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by shoal contributors. 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 2026-10-21. 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 |   Desktop Commander | |
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace alliecatowo/shoal | Removed on 2026-10-16 Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 1 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.3.0 Downloads/month (npm): 966 995 Downloads/week (npm): 159 845 Forks (GitHub): 1 290 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 290 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 290 Pulls (Docker Hub): 237 976 Stars (Docker Hub): 22 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 290 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 290 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 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 | shoalno longer listed · | Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 0 | 6 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 | 10 105 |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 237 976 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 | 1 290 |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-13 |
| 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) | 2 | 7 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/alliecatowo/shoal | github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 2 | 0 |
| 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 shoal
Plugins still listed whose own names, descriptions, tools and skills are closest in meaning to it. Comparable, not endorsed.
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A la carte toolkit for Claude Code. Best practices, persistent memory, and agent-team planning — pick what fits your project.
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Build Claude Code skills, agents, hooks, and MCP servers from plain-language descriptions. Generate, validate, and ship plugins without writing boilerplate.
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Search and run hosted AI agent skills for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Gemini CLI.
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Plain-English translation layer for non-technical Copilot CLI users. Translates every approval prompt, error message, and technical output into clear, jargon-free English with…
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Community of Consciousness MCP Server — upload and explore collective wisdom via GitHub.
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Complete toolkit for building and distributing Claude Code plugins, skills, hooks, subagents, slash commands, marketplaces, and MCP servers
What each says it does
shoal
MCP tools + a complete language card for driving shoal, the agent-first structured shell, from Claude Code.
Desktop Commander
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
How to run each
shoal
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-commanderCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of shoal 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: shoal · 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.