canvas-apps vs Signal Messaging (via signal-cli)
canvas-apps is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by microsoft. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Copilot CLI: github/copilot-plugins). Signal Messaging (via signal-cli) is an MCP server published by joshuawowk. 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
| Marketplace |  canvas-apps |  Signal Messaging (via signal-cli) |
|---|---|---|
| Copilot CLI: github/copilot-plugins | Listed Version: not stated Forks (GitHub): 226 Stars (GitHub): 1 127 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 1.0.1 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 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 | canvas-apps | Signal Messaging (via signal-cli) |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 1 127 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 226 (better) | 0 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | On your machine (ghcr.io/joshuawowk/signal-mcp:1.0.1) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 8, secrets among them: 0 |
| Licence (differs) | MIT | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/microsoft/power-platform-skills | github.com/joshuawowk/signal-mcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-20 |
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
canvas-apps
Build Power Apps Canvas Apps using the Canvas Authoring MCP server.
Signal Messaging (via signal-cli)
Send Signal messages and read replies through your own signal-cli JSON-RPC daemon (unofficial).
How to run each
canvas-apps
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Signal Messaging (via signal-cli) As a local MCP server: Docker image
claude mcp add --env "SIGNAL_DEFAULT_RECIPIENT=<YOUR_SIGNAL_DEFAULT_RECIPIENT>" --env "SIGNAL_SENDER=<YOUR_SIGNAL_SENDER>" --transport stdio signal-mcp -- docker run -i --rm -e SIGNAL_DEFAULT_RECIPIENT -e SIGNAL_SENDER -i --add-host host.docker.internal:host-gateway ghcr.io/joshuawowk/signal-mcp:1.0.1 python3 /app/server.pyRequires: SIGNAL_DEFAULT_RECIPIENT, SIGNAL_SENDER
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 canvas-apps publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: canvas-apps · What it can do: Signal Messaging (via signal-cli) · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/github/copilot-plugins/blob/HEAD/.github/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.