Obsidian Brain vs io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault
Obsidian Brain is an MCP server published by sweir1. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault is an MCP server published by synpulse8-opensource. Marketplaces we read that list it: 1 (Official MCP Registry). As of our marketplace pass on 2026-10-26. 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 |  Obsidian Brain |  io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault |
|---|---|---|
| Official MCP Registry | Listed Version: 1.7.24 Downloads/month (npm): 564 Downloads/week (npm): 128 Forks (GitHub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 13 Not marked · First seen |
Listed Version: 1.6.0 Downloads/month (PyPI): 81 Downloads/week (PyPI): 18 Forks (GitHub): 3 Stars (GitHub): 15 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 | Obsidian Brain | io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplaces that list it | 1 | 1 |
| Stars (GitHub) (differs) | 13 (worse) | 15 (better) |
| Forks (GitHub) | 3 | 3 |
| Last release | Not published | Not published |
| Where it runs (differs) | On your machine (obsidian-brain) | On your machine (pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault) |
| Transport | stdio | stdio |
| Tools it declares | Not published | Not published |
| Environment variables it asks for (differs) | 19, secrets among them: 0 | 2, secrets among them: 1 |
| Licence | Not stated | Not stated |
| Repository (differs) | github.com/sweir1/obsidian-brain | github.com/synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault |
| Changes in the last 7 days | 0 | 0 |
| 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
Obsidian Brain
Obsidian MCP server: semantic search, knowledge graph, and vault editing. No plugin required.
io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault
Agent-native knowledge OS on Markdown: typed graph, hybrid search, and compiler over MCP.
How to run each
Obsidian Brain As a local MCP server: npm package
claude mcp add --env "VAULT_PATH=<YOUR_VAULT_PATH>" --transport stdio obsidian-brain -- npx -y obsidian-brain serverRequires: VAULT_PATH
io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault As a local MCP server: PyPI package
claude mcp add --env "CORTEX_LLM_API_KEY=<YOUR_CORTEX_LLM_API_KEY>" --env "CORTEX_VAULT_PATH=<YOUR_CORTEX_VAULT_PATH>" --transport stdio pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault -- uvx --from pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault cortexRequires: CORTEX_LLM_API_KEY (secret), CORTEX_VAULT_PATH
Commands 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 Obsidian Brain asks for
DATA_DIREMBEDDING_MODELEMBEDDING_PRESETEMBEDDING_PROVIDEROBSIDIAN_BRAIN_COMMUNITY_DEBOUNCE_MSOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_CONFIG_DIROBSIDIAN_BRAIN_DEBUGOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_LOG_FORMATOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_MAX_CHUNK_TOKENSOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_NO_CATCHUPOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_NO_WATCHOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_OLLAMA_AUTO_PULL
Show the remaining 7
OBSIDIAN_BRAIN_OLLAMA_BYOM_AUTO_PULLOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_TOOL_TIMEOUT_MSOBSIDIAN_BRAIN_WATCH_DEBOUNCE_MSOLLAMA_BASE_URLOLLAMA_EMBEDDING_DIMOLLAMA_NUM_CTXVAULT_PATH
Only io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault asks for
CORTEX_LLM_API_KEY (secret)CORTEX_VAULT_PATH
Settings as each marketplace publishes them. Asking for fewer is not better in itself.
What it can do: Obsidian Brain · What it can do: io.github.synpulse8-opensource/pulse8-ai-cortex-knowledge-vault · 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.