openclaw vs OpenClaw MCP Server
openclaw is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by daymade. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Community GitHub marketplaces). OpenClaw MCP Server is an MCP server published by freema. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-21. 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 |  openclaw |  OpenClaw MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace daymade/claude-code-skills | Listed Version: 1.3.0 Forks (GitHub): 228 Stars (GitHub): 1 480 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.7.0 Downloads/month (npm): 982 Downloads/week (npm): 296 Forks (GitHub): 26 Stars (GitHub): 189 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 | openclaw | OpenClaw MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 480 (better) | 189 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 228 (better) | 26 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (openclaw-mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 4, secrets among them: 1 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not published | 5 |
| Licence (differs) | Not stated | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/daymade/claude-code-skills | github.com/freema/openclaw-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 2 | 0 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-15 | 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
openclaw
Manage OpenClaw (龙虾 / lobster) instance configurations, gateway health, and plugin lifecycle — audit, diff, copy, add-model, list, and switch models across openclaw.json files; diagnose a parked or down gateway, plugin register failures, and hooks blocked after an upgrade; confirm whether an install is out of date. Use when juggling multiple OpenClaw / Claude Code wrapper instances, applying DeepSeek model patches, managing default models and aliases, or validating config.
OpenClaw MCP Server
MCP server bridging Claude.ai/Desktop with self-hosted OpenClaw via OAuth 2.1.
How to run each
openclaw As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add daymade/claude-code-skills
/plugin install openclaw@daymade-skillsOpenClaw MCP Server As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=<YOUR_OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN>" --env "OPENCLAW_URL=<YOUR_OPENCLAW_URL>" --transport stdio openclaw-mcp -- npx -y openclaw-mcpRequires: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN (secret), OPENCLAW_URL
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 openclaw publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: openclaw · What it can do: OpenClaw MCP Server · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.