Life Science Research vs Source Library
Life Science Research is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by OpenAI. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Codex: openai-curated (openai/plugins)). Source Library is an MCP server published by Embassy-of-the-Free-Mind. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-27. 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 |  Life Science Research |  Source Library |
|---|---|---|
| Codex: openai-curated (openai/plugins) | Listed Version: 1.0.3 Forks (GitHub): 973 Stars (GitHub): 7 607 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 4.3.4 Forks (GitHub): 4 Stars (GitHub): 23 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 | Life Science Research | Source Library |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 7 607 (better) | 23 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 973 (better) | 4 (worse) |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | Remote server (sourcelibrary.org/api/mcp) |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 50 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | Proprietary | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/openai/plugins | github.com/embassy-of-the-free-mind/sourcelibrary-v2 |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | Responded 3 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
Life Science Research
General life-sciences research workflows with query routing, evidence synthesis, and optional parallel subagent analysis across genetics, omics, biology, chemistry, structure, clinical evidence, and public dataset discovery.
Source Library
Search 15K rare pre-modern texts translated to English: philosophy, religion, science, literature.
How to run each
Life Science Research As a Codex plugin
codex plugin marketplace add openai/pluginsSource Library As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http sourcelibrary https://sourcelibrary.org/api/mcpCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only Source Library has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Neither one's marketplaces publish a list of tools, so there is nothing to compare.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: Life Science Research · What it can do: Source Library · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/openai/plugins/blob/HEAD/.agents/plugins/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.