phd-deepread vs DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server
phd-deepread is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by heleninsights-dot. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Claude Code: claude-plugins-community). DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server is an MCP server published by docsagent. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-13. 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 |  phd-deepread |  DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Listed Version: 0.2.2 Forks (GitHub): 4 Stars (GitHub): 62 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 5.0.1 Downloads/month (npm): 510 Downloads/week (npm): 97 Forks (GitHub): 11 Stars (GitHub): 625 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 | phd-deepread | DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 62 (worse) | 625 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 4 (worse) | 11 (better) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (@docsagent/docsagent) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 1, secrets among them: 0 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/heleninsights-dot/phd-deepread-workflow | github.com/docsagent/docsagent |
| 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
phd-deepread
Transform academic PDFs into structured literature notes and critical-thinking canvases for Obsidian. Extracts text from PDFs, then Claude generates a structured note with evidence tables, validity-mapped critique, and 25+ wikilinks. Outputs a 9-node JSON canvas for visual critical-thinking analysis in Obsidian.
DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server
Instant, private access to your knowledge base: Zotero, Obsidian, Apple Notes (macOS).
How to run each
phd-deepread As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
/plugin install phd-deepread@claude-communityDocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio docsagent -- npx -y @docsagent/docsagentCommands 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 phd-deepread publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: phd-deepread · What it can do: DocsAgent — Zotero, Obsidian & Apple Notes MCP Server · 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. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.