exa vs Argus Retrieval
exa is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by exa-labs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 5 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins, Community GitHub marketplaces). Argus Retrieval is an MCP server published by Khamel83. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-17. 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 |  exa |  Argus Retrieval |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 138 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 138 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 1.6.4 Downloads/month (PyPI): 422 Downloads/week (PyPI): 40 Forks (GitHub): 2 Stars (GitHub): 5 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 407 Pulls (Docker Hub): 36 489 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 138 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 407 Stars (GitHub): 5 138 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
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 | exa | Argus Retrieval |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 5 (better) | 1 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 5 138 (better) | 5 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 36 489 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 407 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server or your machine | On your machine (argus-search) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP, stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 2 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 8, secrets among them: 6 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 3 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server | github.com/khamel83/argus |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Responded 26 h ago | no remote endpoint we check |
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
exa
Exa AI web search, deep research, and content extraction. Provides MCP tools and research skills for comprehensive web search, people discovery, company research, academic papers, and more.
Argus Retrieval
Multi-provider search broker for AI agents: 14 providers, 12-step extraction, retrieval workflows.
How to run each
exa As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-officialArgus Retrieval As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY>" --env "ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY>" --env "ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY>" --env "ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY>" --env "ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY>" --env "ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY=<YOUR_ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY>" --transport stdio argus -- uvx argus-searchRequires: ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY (secret), ARGUS_EXA_API_KEY (secret), ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY (secret), ARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY (secret), ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY (secret), ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY (secret)
Commands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only exa has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
The marketplaces of Argus Retrieval publish no list of tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
Only exa asks for
EXA_API_KEY (secret)
Only Argus Retrieval asks for
ARGUS_BRAVE_API_KEY (secret)ARGUS_DATA_ROOTARGUS_EXA_API_KEY (secret)ARGUS_LINKUP_API_KEY (secret)ARGUS_SEARXNG_BASE_URLARGUS_SERPER_API_KEY (secret)ARGUS_TAVILY_API_KEY (secret)ARGUS_WOLFRAM_API_KEY (secret)
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: exa · What it can do: Argus Retrieval · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. 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 public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.