Trail vs Workfile
Trail is an MCP server published by usetrail.dev. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). Workfile is an MCP server published by illodev. Marketplaces we read that list it: 2 (Official MCP Registry, Community GitHub marketplaces). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-15. 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 |  Trail |  Workfile |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.29.1 Downloads/month (npm): 779 Downloads/week (npm): 110 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 0 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.13.2 Downloads/month (npm): 1 620 Downloads/week (npm): 266 Forks (GitHub): 0 Stars (GitHub): 3 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 | Trail | Workfile |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it (differs) | 1 (worse) | 2 (better) |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 0 (worse) | 3 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) | 0 | 0 |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (usetrail) | On your machine (@illodev/workfile) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 2, secrets among them: 0 | Not published |
| Hooks it runs (differs) | Not published | 3 |
| Parts of the bundle (differs) | Not a bundle | 9 |
| Licence (differs) | Not stated | MIT |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/arsprengel/trail-mcp | github.com/illodev/workfile |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 0 | 2 |
| 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
Trail
Issue tracker and durable project memory for your coding agent, scoped to the folder you open.
Workfile
Repository-native protocol and local MCP server for Work, Docs, History and durable project Memory.
How to run each
Trail As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio trail -- npx -y usetrailWorkfile As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --transport stdio workfile -- npx -y @illodev/workfile mcpCommands 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 Workfile publish no settings it asks for, so we do not compare settings.
What it can do: Trail · What it can do: Workfile · Compare two other plugins
Data comes from the Official MCP Registry (registry.modelcontextprotocol.io), CC0 1.0. 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.