obsidian-sync vs Zotero MCP
obsidian-sync is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by chenlei1700. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). Zotero MCP is an MCP server published by 54yyyu. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, PyPI (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-30. 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 |  obsidian-sync |  Zotero MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 0.1.0 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.15.1 Downloads/month (PyPI): 20 314 Downloads/week (PyPI): 7 107 Forks (GitHub): 451 Stars (GitHub): 5 636 Not marked · First seen |
| PyPI (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.15.1 Downloads/month (PyPI): 20 314 Downloads/week (PyPI): 7 107 Forks (GitHub): 451 Stars (GitHub): 5 636 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 | obsidian-sync | Zotero MCP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 5 636 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 451 (better) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-16 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (zotero-mcp-server) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 5, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 2 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | Not stated | MIT AND AGPL-3.0-or-later |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/chenlei1700/obsidian-sync | github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 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
obsidian-sync
A Claude Code plugin that syncs project documentation to your Obsidian vault — one command, zero config. The Problem: You clone repos. Each has scattered documentation — .md files, .pdf references — buried in nested directories. You want to read and search them in one place, but they live across dozens of project folders. obsidian-sync moves all project documentation into your Obsidian vault with a single command, keeping them browsable both in Obsidian and in the original project.
Zotero MCP
Search, read, annotate, and add to your Zotero research library, local or web.
How to run each
obsidian-sync As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install obsidian-sync@claude-communityZotero MCP As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "ZOTERO_API_KEY=<YOUR_ZOTERO_API_KEY>" --transport stdio zotero-mcp -- uvx zotero-mcp-server serveRequires: ZOTERO_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of obsidian-sync publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: obsidian-sync · What it can do: Zotero MCP · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Package data comes from the Python Package Index (pypi.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.