exa vs io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
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). io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server is an MCP server published by cyanheads. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, npm registry (MCP servers)). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-26. 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 |  io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 403 Stars (GitHub): 5 170 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 403 Stars (GitHub): 5 170 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.10.1 Downloads/month (npm): 3 032 Downloads/week (npm): 603 Forks (GitHub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 16 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 403 Pulls (Docker Hub): 37 036 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 170 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 403 Stars (GitHub): 5 170 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.10.1 Downloads/month (npm): 3 032 Downloads/week (npm): 603 Forks (GitHub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 16 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 | exa | io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 5 (better) | 2 (worse) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 5 170 (better) | 16 (worse) |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | 37 036 | No figure on Docker Hub |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 403 (better) | 5 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-10-26 |
| Where it runs | Remote server or your machine | Remote server or your machine |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP, stdio | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares (differs) | 2 | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 1, secrets among them: 1 | 11, secrets among them: 0 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 3 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server | github.com/cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 5 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Responded 3 days ago | Responded 5 days ago |
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.
io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
Access the OpenAlex academic research catalog — 270M+ publications.
How to run each
exa As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-officialio.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http openalex-mcp-server https://openalex.caseyjhand.com/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Both endpoints responded at the last daily check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Only exa has
web_fetch_exaweb_search_exa
Only io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server has
openalex_analyze_trendsopenalex_describe_fieldsopenalex_get_citation_graphopenalex_resolve_nameopenalex_search_entities
Both have
None
Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server as of 2026-10-22). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.
Settings each asks for
Only exa asks for
EXA_API_KEY (secret)
Only io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server asks for
MCP_AUTH_MODEMCP_HTTP_ENDPOINT_PATHMCP_HTTP_HOSTMCP_HTTP_PORTMCP_LOG_LEVELMCP_TRANSPORT_TYPEOPENALEX_API_KEYOPENALEX_BASE_URLOPENALEX_CLAMP_PER_PAGEOPENALEX_FILTER_STRING_INPUTOPENALEX_MAILTO
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: exa · What it can do: io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server · 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. Package data comes from the public npm registry (registry.npmjs.org). Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.