Retool
Retool is retiring standalone Assist while folding the same capability into the app builder.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
BorgBackup vs rgm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of BorgBackup and rgm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
BorgBackup vs rgm: at a glance
What is BorgBackup?
Borg's long-running 2.0 beta finally landed packs — and warned it dropped back to alpha quality.
Borg runs two trains in the same feed. The 1.4.x line is explicitly a refreshed 1.2 — same features and behaviour, with the riskier changes isolated so they could be tested before shipping — and it has taken over as the recommended branch since 1.2.9 was called the final 1.2 release. The 2.0 line has been in beta since well before this window, at b22 as of July 2026, with every release carrying a do-not-use-on-production warning. b22 introduced packs and the maintainers told users to expect alpha stability despite the beta number.
What is rgm?
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
BorgBackup vs rgm: editorial side-by-side
BorgBackup
6.3INFRA · APIS
Borg's long-running 2.0 beta finally landed packs — and warned it dropped back to alpha quality.
◆ Current state
Borg runs two trains in the same feed. The 1.4.x line is explicitly a refreshed 1.2 — same features and behaviour, with the riskier changes isolated so they could be tested before shipping — and it has taken over as the recommended branch since 1.2.9 was called the final 1.2 release. The 2.0 line has been in beta since well before this window, at b22 as of July 2026, with every release carrying a do-not-use-on-production warning. b22 introduced packs and the maintainers told users to expect alpha stability despite the beta number.
◆ Where it's heading
The split is the story: one branch exists purely to keep existing users safe and current, while the other rewrites how data is stored on disk. Packs are the kind of change that determines whether 2.0 ever ships — repository layout affects performance, resumability and every recovery path at once, and the honesty about stability regressing suggests the shakeout is still ahead. The 1.4 line will keep absorbing fixes and low-severity security work in the meantime, and the b18 corruption bug shows why the two trains are kept firmly apart.
◆ Prediction
Expect further 2.0 betas focused on packs stability before anything resembling a release candidate, with 1.4.x continuing to carry routine fixes for production users.
rgm
0.0INFRA · APIS
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
◆ Current state
rgm implements the random graphical model for microbiome interactions across related environments, published in JABES in 2026. The package was archived from CRAN in February 2026 because of its dependency on huge; the recovery release drops that dependency entirely, which cost it the graphical-lasso warm start that used to seed the initial graph — the default is now an empty graph, with warm starts left to the user. A post-processing function returning ggplot diagnostics arrived in the same release.
◆ Where it's heading
Three tags shipped inside two hours on one day, and the notes are candid about why: 1.1.0 held the actual work but was never released, 1.2.0 restated it under a higher version to signal the size of the change, and 1.2.1 answered CRAN pre-test feedback. Beyond the archival recovery, the visible work is housekeeping that had accumulated — a shadowed rmvnorm() definition, roxygen import tags that were silently emitting nothing, leftover C++ template scaffolding, and build artifacts under version control. The diagnostics function is the only genuinely new user-facing capability in the window.
◆ Prediction
The immediate task was restoring availability, and that is done; the open question the entries raise is whether losing the graphical-lasso warm start affects convergence in practice, which the new diagnostic plots are positioned to answer.
Alternatives to BorgBackup and rgm
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 BorgBackup or rgm.
WPML
WPML made machine translation the default, and its point releases keep chasing WordPress and page builders.
forestploter
A forest plot package that keeps handing users control of one more graphical detail.
ggInterval
Interval-valued data plotting, spending 2026 making its function names and examples survive CRAN.
contagionchannels
Three releases in ten days, every one of them a CRAN reviewer's correction rather than a code change.
tidyaudit
Pipeline provenance for tidyverse workflows, recording what changed at each step without keeping the data.
See all BorgBackup alternatives → · See all rgm alternatives →
Recent activity from BorgBackup and rgm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 19d agoBorgBackup1.4.5: fixes, a low-severity security fix and small features
- 28d agoBorgBackup2.0.0b22 introduces packs — and warns stability regressed to alpha ⚡
- 3mo agorgmJournal DOI replaces the preprint; promotional wording removed
- 3mo agorgmBack on CRAN after dropping the dependency that caused archival
- 3mo agorgmUnreleased twin of the CRAN recovery release
- 4mo agoBorgBackup1.4.4 maintenance release
- 5mo agoBorgBackup2.0.0b21 beta, testing only
- 7mo agoBorgBackup2.0.0b20 beta, testing only
- 8mo agoBorgBackup1.4.3 maintenance release
- 2y agorgmFirst release: simulation, estimation and post-processing
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BorgBackup and rgm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. BorgBackup 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 BorgBackup better than rgm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. BorgBackup 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 BorgBackup?
Top BorgBackup alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "BorgBackup alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/borgbackup for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgm?
Top rgm alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.