academic-skills vs io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
academic-skills is a plugin bundle for AI coding tools published by shzhao27208. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (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 2026-11-13. 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 |  academic-skills |  io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
|---|---|---|
| Community marketplace shzhao27208/aut_sci_write | Listed Version: 1.8.1 Forks (GitHub): 28 Stars (GitHub): 218 Not marked · First seen |
Not listed |
| Official MCP Registry | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.11.1 Downloads/month (npm): 3 952 Downloads/week (npm): 602 Forks (GitHub): 8 Stars (GitHub): 18 Not marked · First seen |
| npm registry (MCP servers) | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.11.1 Downloads/month (npm): 3 952 Downloads/week (npm): 602 Forks (GitHub): 8 Stars (GitHub): 18 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 | academic-skills | io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 218 (better) | 18 (worse) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 28 (better) | 8 (worse) |
| Last release (differs) | Not published | 2026-11-11 |
| Where it runs (differs) | Installs as a plugin bundle | Remote server or your machine |
| Transport (differs) | Not stated | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | Not published | 13, secrets among them: 0 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | 9 | Not a bundle |
| Licence (differs) | Not stated | Apache-2.0 |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/shzhao27208/aut_sci_write | github.com/cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 3 |
| First seen (differs) | 2026-11-06 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | Responded less than an hour 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
academic-skills
Academic research suite: paper search, PDF download, Zotero sync, PPT/HTML generation, figure extraction, peer review, and paper polishing
io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server
Access the OpenAlex academic research catalog — 270M+ publications.
How to run each
academic-skills As a Claude Code plugin
/plugin marketplace add shzhao27208/aut_sci_write
/plugin install academic-skills@shuozhaoio.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.
Only io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Neither the marketplaces of academic-skills nor its endpoint list any tools, so we do not compare tools.
Settings each asks for
The marketplaces of academic-skills publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: academic-skills · What it can do: io.github.cyanheads/openalex-mcp-server · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. 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.