Vault Cortex vs NeuroStack
Vault Cortex is an MCP server published by aliasunder. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). NeuroStack is an MCP server published by raphasouthall. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-14. 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 |  Vault Cortex |  NeuroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 0.54.13 Forks (GitHub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 26 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 0.12.0 Downloads/month (npm): 447 Downloads/week (npm): 41 Forks (GitHub): 5 Stars (GitHub): 47 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 | Vault Cortex | NeuroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 26 (worse) | 47 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) (differs) | 3 (worse) | 5 (better) |
| Last release (differs) | 2026-10-12 | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (ghcr.io/aliasunder/vault-cortex:0.54.13) | Remote server (mcp.neurostack.sh/mcp) |
| Transport | Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 24, secrets among them: 1 | 1, secrets among them: 0 |
| Licence | Not stated | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/aliasunder/vault-cortex | github.com/raphasouthall/neurostack |
| Changes in the last 7 days (differs) | 2 | 0 |
| First seen | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-11 |
| Endpoint at the last check (differs) | no remote endpoint we check | not checked yet |
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
Vault Cortex
Standalone MCP server for Obsidian vaults — hybrid search, notes & files, memory, tasks, OAuth 2.1
NeuroStack
Token-efficient MCP memory for Markdown vaults. Tiered search, GraphRAG, AI memories.
How to run each
Vault Cortex
No data for an automatic command: what its marketplaces declare does not say unambiguously how to connect it.
Requires: MCP_AUTH_TOKEN (secret)
NeuroStack As a remote MCP server
claude mcp add --transport http neurostack https://mcp.neurostack.sh/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
Only Vault Cortex asks for
DAILY_NOTES_FOLDERDAILY_NOTES_FORMATDISABLED_TOOLSEMBEDDING_ENABLEDFILE_TOOLS_ENABLEDLOG_DIRLOG_LEVELLOG_RETENTION_DAYSMAX_FILE_BYTESMAX_IMAGE_OUTPUT_BYTESMAX_PDF_RENDER_PAGESMCP_AUTH_TOKEN (secret)
Show the remaining 12
MEMORY_DIRMEMORY_ENABLEDORPHAN_EXCLUDE_FOLDERSPROTECTED_PATHSPUBLIC_URLREADONLY_MODERERANK_MODESERVICE_DOCUMENTATION_URLTRUST_FORWARDED_HOPSTRUST_PROXY_HOPSTZWINDOWS_MODE
Only NeuroStack asks for
NEUROSTACK_VAULT_ROOT
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Vault Cortex · What it can do: NeuroStack · Compare two other plugins
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.