HelpySelf vs Desktop Commander
HelpySelf is an MCP server published by helpyself.com. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). Desktop Commander is an MCP server published by wonderwhy-er. Marketplaces we read that list it: 6 (Official MCP Registry, Claude Code: claude-plugins-official, Docker MCP Catalog, Claude: knowledge-work-plugins, Claude Code: claude-plugins-community, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-24. 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 |  HelpySelf |   Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.0.3 No figure published Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.3.1 Downloads/month (npm): 966 995 Downloads/week (npm): 159 845 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-official | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Docker MCP Catalog | Not listed | Listed Version: sha256:5df787069e37 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Pulls (Docker Hub): 239 458 Stars (Docker Hub): 22 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude: knowledge-work-plugins | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 Not marked · First seen |
| Claude Code: claude-plugins-community | Not listed | Listed Version: 0.2.0 Forks (GitHub): 1 255 Stars (GitHub): 10 105 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 | HelpySelf | Desktop Commander |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 6 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 10 105 |
| Pulls (Docker Hub) (differs) | No figure on Docker Hub | 239 458 |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | No figure on GitHub | 1 255 |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-15 (worse) | 2026-10-22 (better) |
| Where it runs (differs) | Remote server (helpyself.com/mcp) | On your machine (@wonderwhy-er/desktop-commander) |
| Transport (differs) | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Tools it declares (differs) | Not published | 26 |
| Environment variables it asks for | Not published | Not published |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 7 |
| Licence (differs) | Not stated | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | Not stated | github.com/wonderwhy-er/desktopcommandermcp |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 1 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | Responded 4 days ago | no remote endpoint we check |
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
HelpySelf
More than a hundred everyday tools: PDFs, images, text, data, calculators, dice and currency.
Desktop Commander
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
How to run each
HelpySelf As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http tools https://helpyself.com/mcpDesktop Commander As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio desktop-commander -- npx -y @wonderwhy-er/desktop-commanderCommands built only from what the marketplaces declare; the full set for every client is on each card.
Only HelpySelf has a remote endpoint we check. How we check endpoints
Tools each declares
Only HelpySelf has
age_calculatorapp_background_previewascii_tableauto_redact_pdfaverage_calculatoravif_converterbackground_removerbarcode_generatorbarcode_readerbase64binary_translatorbmi_calculator
Show the remaining 112
body_fat_calculatorbracket_makerbraille_translatorbulk_image_resizerbusiness_dayscalorie_calculatorcase_converterchecksum_verifiercoin_flipcolor_convertercompare_two_listscompound_interestcompress_to_sizecontrast_checkercontrast_fixercontrast_gridcookie_checkercountdown_timercron_expressioncsv_to_jsoncurrency_converterdate_differencedays_until_christmasdelisted_gamesdice_rollerduplicate_line_removerexif_removerfavicon_generatorfind_a_timefraction_calculatorfuel_cost_calculatorgame_collectiongif_compressorgpa_calculatorgradient_generatorhash_generatoriban_validatorimage_compressorimage_converterimage_cropperimage_resizerimage_to_textimages_to_pdfinvoice_generatorjson_formatterjwt_decoderloan_calculatorlorem_ipsummac_address_lookupmarkdown_to_htmlmic_testmorse_code_translatorone_rep_maxpace_calculatorpassword_generatorpdf_compresspdf_mergepdf_page_numberspdf_reorderpdf_rotatepdf_splitpdf_to_excelpdf_to_imagespdf_to_wordpercentage_calculatorphoto_gallerypregnancy_calculatorpub_to_pdfqr_generatorrandom_number_generatorrandom_pickerrandom_team_generatorratio_calculatorreadability_scoreregex_explainerregex_testerremove_line_breaksrequest_a_fileroman_numeralssalary_calculatorscreen_recordersend_a_secretshare_filesignature_makersleep_calculatorslug_generatorsplit_rentsql_formatterstall_bookingsubnet_calculatorsvg_minifiertext_difftime_card_calculatortimestamp_convertertimezone_convertertip_calculatortyping_testunit_converterupside_down_texturl_encoderutm_builderuuid_generatorvat_calculatorvideo_to_gifwatermark_pdfwebcam_testwhat_is_my_ipwheel_of_namesword_counterword_to_pdfxml_formatteryaml_to_json
Only Desktop Commander has
create_directoryedit_blockforce_terminateget_configget_file_infoget_more_search_resultsget_promptsget_recent_tool_callsget_usage_statsgive_feedback_to_desktop_commanderinteract_with_processkill_process
Show the remaining 14
list_directorylist_processeslist_searcheslist_sessionsmove_fileread_fileread_multiple_filesread_process_outputset_config_valuestart_processstart_searchstop_searchwrite_filewrite_pdf
Both have
None
Tool names as the marketplaces declare them and as Ext Ops observed them on the endpoints (HelpySelf as of 2026-10-17). More tools is not better in itself: compare what each needs for the job.
Settings each asks for
Neither one's marketplaces publish the settings it asks for.
What it can do: HelpySelf · What it can do: Desktop Commander · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-official/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. 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. Data comes from the public marketplace file https://github.com/anthropics/claude-plugins-community/blob/HEAD/.claude-plugin/marketplace.json. Data comes from public marketplace files in GitHub repositories of their authors. Figures come from our own regular passes over the marketplaces, last read on . We publish no contact details for plugin publishers.