the-swarm vs Desktop Commander
the-swarm is no longer listed on any marketplace we read: these are its last known data, as of 2026‑10‑20.
the-swarm is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by Ben Alkov. 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 2026-10-24. 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 ben-alkov/the_swarm | Removed on 2026-10-20 Version: 0.2.16 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 5 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): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Pulls (Docker Hub): 239 209 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): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 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 | the-swarmno longer listed · | Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 0 | 6 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 5 | 10 105 |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 239 209 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 | 1 255 |
| 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 |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | 3 | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 9 | 7 |
| Licence (differs) | GPL3 | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/ben-alkov/the_swarm | github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 2 | 1 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-15 | 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 the-swarm
Plugins still listed whose own names, descriptions, tools and skills are closest in meaning to it. Comparable, not endorsed.
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Research-backed orchestration for Claude Code. Structured workflow from idea to production with parallel execution, session memory, 70-point validation, autonomous mode, and…
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Generate ready-to-paste Claude Code prompts with the right agent, orchestration pattern, and safety rails. Orchestrator synthesises patterns from 6 open-source projects into a…
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Bio-inspired swarm orchestrator for Claude Code. Breaks tasks into parallel subtasks, coordinates agents through stigmergy, learns across sessions with pheromone scoring, and…
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Autonomous overnight coding agent. Queue tasks in YAML, run them via Claude CLI while you sleep, and use self-healing audit-fix loops to hit any quality target. Includes skills…
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Use /ultrathink <TASK_DESCRIPTION> to launch a Coordinator Agent that directs four specialist sub-agents—Architect, Research, Coder, and Tester—to analyze, design, implement, and…
What each says it does
the-swarm
Multi-pattern orchestration for Claude Code — fan-out, swarm, pipeline, map-reduce, speculative, and watchdog patterns for concurrent review, analysis, implementation, and research
Desktop Commander
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
How to run each
the-swarm
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 the-swarm 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: the-swarm · 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.