Comparison

exa vs DC5 WHOIS

exa is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by exa-labs. Marketplaces we read that list it: 4 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Official MCP Registry, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins). DC5 WHOIS is an MCP server published by whois.dc5.tech. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-11-10. 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

Where each is published
Marketplace	exa	DC5 WHOIS
Claude Code: claude-plugins-official	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 414 Stars (GitHub): 5 219 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Official MCP Registry	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 414 Stars (GitHub): 5 219 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Listed Version: 2026.10.30 No figure published Not marked · First seen 2026-10-19
Docker MCP Catalog	Listed Version: sha256:d88edd571d98 Forks (GitHub): 414 Pulls (Docker Hub): 37 986 Stars (Docker Hub): 7 Stars (GitHub): 5 219 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	Not listed
Claude: knowledge-work-plugins	Listed Version: 3.4.1 Forks (GitHub): 414 Stars (GitHub): 5 219 Not marked · First seen 2026-10-11	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

exa vs DC5 WHOIS
Fact	exa	DC5 WHOIS
Marketplaces that list it (differs)	4 (better)	1 (worse)
Stars (GitHub) (differs)	5 219	No figure on GitHub
Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs)	37 986	No figure on Docker Hub
Forks (GitHub) (differs)	414	No figure on GitHub
Last release (differs)	Not published	2026-10-30
Where it runs (differs)	Remote server or your machine	Remote server (whois.dc5.tech/mcp)
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	Not published
Parts of the bundle (differs)	3	Not a bundle
Licence (differs)	MIT	Not stated
Repository (differs)	github.com/exa-labs/exa-mcp-server	Not stated
Changes in the last 7 days	0	0
First seen (differs)	2026-10-11	2026-10-19
Endpoint at the last check (differs)	Responded 3 h ago	Status out of date: last check 38 h ago returned HTTP 405

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

In its own words, on Claude Code: claude-plugins-official:

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.

DC5 WHOIS

In its own words, on Official MCP Registry:

WHOIS, RDAP, DNS, IP / ASN / CIDR and Web3 name (ENS, Unstoppable, Handshake) lookups. No API key.

How to run each

exa As a Claude Code plugin

Claude Code

/plugin install exa@claude-plugins-official

DC5 WHOIS As a remote MCP server

Claude Code

claude mcp add --transport http dc5-whois https://whois.dc5.tech/mcp

Commands 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_exa
web_search_exa

Only DC5 WHOIS has

check_aspa_path
check_lookalike
check_mail_security
check_route
get_tld_info
list_data_sources
lookup_many
lookup_target

Both have

None

Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (DC5 WHOIS as of 2026-11-05). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.

Settings each asks for

The marketplaces of DC5 WHOIS publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.

What it can do: exa · What it can do: DC5 WHOIS · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on 2026-11-10. We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.