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Comparison · Infra & APIs

authentik vs PEIMAN2

A side-by-side editorial comparison of authentik and PEIMAN2 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

authentik vs PEIMAN2: at a glance

FeatureauthentikPEIMAN2
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score6.30.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themesidentity-provider, enterprise-agents, endpoint-identity, oauth2proteomics, post-translational-modification, enrichment-analysis, reproducibility
Last editorial update16h ago45m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is authentik?

authentik 2026.8 ships: Actors, domain-joined Agents, and a push past browser-mediated SSO

2026.8.0 is out, closing a seven-candidate train that ran through early August. The GA tag itself is the last cherry-pick batch — SCIM group membership removals, a proxy redirect that preserves query strings, session deletion on user deactivation — but the release it finalizes is where the substance lives: an Actors primitive in core, an enterprise Agent requiring a domain join and its own API scope, OAuth2 token exchange delegation, and a CAS source integration.

Read the full authentik trajectory →

What is PEIMAN2?

PEIMAN2 cut its annotation database loose from its release cycle without breaking CRAN.

PEIMAN2 does enrichment analysis over post-translational modifications, testing whether a protein list is enriched for particular PTMs against UniProt-derived annotations, with translation functions bridging to mass spectrometry workflows. Its answers are only as current as its bundled database, and until June that database could only be refreshed by releasing a new package version. Version 1.1.0 changes that.

Read the full PEIMAN2 trajectory →

authentik vs PEIMAN2: editorial side-by-side

A
authentik
INFRA · APIS
6.3

authentik 2026.8 ships: Actors, domain-joined Agents, and a push past browser-mediated SSO

◆ Current state

2026.8.0 is out, closing a seven-candidate train that ran through early August. The GA tag itself is the last cherry-pick batch — SCIM group membership removals, a proxy redirect that preserves query strings, session deletion on user deactivation — but the release it finalizes is where the substance lives: an Actors primitive in core, an enterprise Agent requiring a domain join and its own API scope, OAuth2 token exchange delegation, and a CAS source integration.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads converge in this major. The identity surface keeps broadening at the protocol edge — CAS, WS-Fed, token exchange delegation, on-behalf-of — while the enterprise tier grows an endpoint story that reaches machines and devices rather than browser sessions. The RC train's shape reinforces it: six candidates fired in one day on CI and docs, then one heavy candidate carrying the features, then a fix-only close. That is release engineering hardened around a major, not a routine point release.

◆ Prediction

With Agents and Actors now GA rather than cherry-picks, the next branch should build out what they enable — device-conditioned policies or agent-brokered credentials — while 2026.8.x settles into backport patches.

P
PEIMAN2
INFRA · APIS
0.0

PEIMAN2 cut its annotation database loose from its release cycle without breaking CRAN.

◆ Current state

PEIMAN2 does enrichment analysis over post-translational modifications, testing whether a protein list is enriched for particular PTMs against UniProt-derived annotations, with translation functions bridging to mass spectrometry workflows. Its answers are only as current as its bundled database, and until June that database could only be refreshed by releasing a new package version. Version 1.1.0 changes that.

◆ Where it's heading

The package has been moving from a fixed snapshot toward versioned, user-selectable data. Earlier releases updated the bundled database in place — 1.0.0 shipped the March 2025 version and said little else — which meant the annotation vintage was whatever the package version implied. Now update_peiman_database() downloads and caches external database files and UniProt PTM lists, enrichment workflows take a database_version argument, and the mass-spec translators take a ptmlist_version, so an analysis can pin a dated database rather than a package release. The CRAN-safe default is preserved deliberately: loading, examples and checks still use the bundled internal data and need no network.

◆ Prediction

Version pinning is now expressible but the release notes do not describe how a chosen version is recorded in output, so surfacing the active database version in results is the natural companion. The database and the UniProt PTM list are versioned separately, which leaves room for a combined manifest.

Alternatives to authentik and PEIMAN2

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either authentik or PEIMAN2.

See all authentik alternatives → · See all PEIMAN2 alternatives →

Recent activity from authentik and PEIMAN2

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoauthentikauthentik 2026.8 goes GA with Actors and domain-joined Agents
  2. 9d agoauthentikauthentik 2026.8.0-rc7 lands Actors, enterprise Agents, and CAS sources
  3. 16d agoauthentik2026.8.0-rc6: flaky test and CI metadata fixes
  4. 16d agoauthentik2026.8.0-rc5: release plumbing only
  5. 16d agoauthentik2026.8.0-rc4: fix-only candidate
  6. 16d agoauthentik2026.8.0-rc3: cherry-picked fixes and CI work
  7. 2mo agoPEIMAN2Database updates decouple from package releases
  8. 1y agoPEIMAN2Bundled database refreshed to the March 2025 UniProt vintage
  9. 1y agoPEIMAN2Documentation fix for the second example dataset
  10. 2y agoPEIMAN2Background lists for SEA and PSEA; tidyverse dependency dropped

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between authentik and PEIMAN2?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. authentik is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is authentik better than PEIMAN2?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. authentik is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to authentik?

Top authentik alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "authentik alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/authentik for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to PEIMAN2?

Top PEIMAN2 alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "PEIMAN2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/peiman2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.