Kibana vs PaperBanana
A side-by-side look at the Kibana and PaperBanana MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Kibana for data visualization work as a local process; choose PaperBanana for data visualization as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Kibana when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Data Visualization domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
KIBANA_URL, KIBANA_API_KEY, KIBANA_USERNAME, KIBANA_PASSWORD, KIBANA_COOKIES. - You want tools like
get_status, execute_kb_api, search_kibana_api_paths.
Choose PaperBanana when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Data Visualization domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
OPENAI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, OPENAI_BASE_URL, GOOGLE_BASE_URL, GOOGLE_VLM_MODEL, GOOGLE_IMAGE_MODEL.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Data Visualization | Data Visualization |
| Quality signal | 69/100 · Great | 47/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | KIBANA_URLKIBANA_API_KEYKIBANA_USERNAMEKIBANA_PASSWORDKIBANA_COOKIES |
Tools & capabilities
Kibana tools 16
get_statusGet Kibana server status with multi-space supportexecute_kb_apiExecute a custom API request for Kibana with multi-space support. RETRY SAFETY: this tool can reach any write endpoint. A POST retried after a timeout or dropped response can create a duplicate — prefer a caller-chosen stable id (or the vl_* tool for that object type, which documents the safe pattern) over letting the server auto-generate one.search_kibana_api_pathsSearch Kibana API endpoints by keywordlist_all_kibana_api_pathsList all Kibana API endpoints as a resource listget_kibana_api_detailGet details for a specific Kibana API endpointget_available_spacesGet all available Kibana spaces with current contextvl_search_saved_objectsSearch for Kibana saved objects using Elasticsearch query syntax. This is a universal tool that can search across all saved object types (dashboard, visualization, index-pattern, search, config, lens, map, tag, canvas-workpad, canvas-element, etc.). IMPORTANT: You must specify the 'types' parameter - it is required by the Kibana API. PERFORMANCE TIPS: Always use 'fields' parameter to specify only needed fields (e.g., ['title', 'description']) for faster responses. Use 'perPage' 5-20 for optimal speed. PAGINATION: To get all results, make multiple requests with incrementing 'page' numbers (page=1, page=2, etc.) until you receive fewer results than 'perPage'. Don't stop at the first page - iterate through all pages for complete data. Returns formatted saved object information including type, title, description, and timestamps.vl_get_saved_objectGet a single Kibana saved object by type and ID. This is a universal tool that can retrieve any type of saved object (dashboard, visualization, index-pattern, search, config, lens, map, tag, canvas-workpad, canvas-element, etc.) by its exact type and ID. Use this when you know the specific object you want to retrieve. PERFORMANCE: This is much faster than searching when you have the exact type and ID.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Kibana
{
"mcpServers": {
"kibana": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@tocharianou/mcp-server-kibana"
],
"env": {
"KIBANA_URL": "YOUR_KIBANA_URL_HERE",
"KIBANA_API_KEY": "YOUR_KIBANA_API_KEY_HERE",
"KIBANA_USERNAME": "YOUR_KIBANA_USERNAME_HERE",
"KIBANA_PASSWORD": "YOUR_KIBANA_PASSWORD_HERE",
"KIBANA_COOKIES": "YOUR_KIBANA_COOKIES_HERE"
}
}
}
}
PaperBanana
{
"mcpServers": {
"paperbanana": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"paperbanana"
],
"env": {
"OPENAI_API_KEY": "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE",
"GOOGLE_API_KEY": "YOUR_GOOGLE_API_KEY_HERE",
"OPENAI_BASE_URL": "YOUR_OPENAI_BASE_URL_HERE",
"GOOGLE_BASE_URL": "YOUR_GOOGLE_BASE_URL_HERE",
"GOOGLE_VLM_MODEL": "YOUR_GOOGLE_VLM_MODEL_HERE",
"GOOGLE_IMAGE_MODEL": "YOUR_GOOGLE_IMAGE_MODEL_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Kibana is categorized under Data Visualization and uses a local stdio subprocess. PaperBanana belongs to Data Visualization and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Kibana for data visualization work and PaperBanana for data visualization.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Kibana is listed as free. Auth: api key required. PaperBanana has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add kibana and paperbanana as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Kibana has a quality signal of 69/100 (Great) with 4 views, 0 installs and 84 GitHub stars. PaperBanana has 47/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 2,390 GitHub stars.