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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Clair vs Huginn

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

Clair vs Huginn: at a glance

FeatureClairHuginn
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themescontainer-security, vulnerability-scanning, sbom, red-hatautomation, self-hosted, security, ruby
Last editorial update8h ago5d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Clair?

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

Read the full Clair trajectory →

What is Huginn?

Huginn closes a JqAgent leak of server secrets and outbound proxy bypasses.

Huginn has shipped near-weekly releases since August, mostly security fixes. v2026.11.09 starts jq with an empty environment so JqAgent filters can no longer read server environment variables, and enforces OUTBOUND_PROXY on HTTP paths that bypassed it, including JiraAgent and WeiboPublishAgent. Operators who enabled jq with untrusted users are told to rotate APP_SECRET_TOKEN and other credentials. It follows the 5 November XSS fixes and the Rails 8.1.4.1 upgrade.

Read the full Huginn trajectory →

Clair vs Huginn: editorial side-by-side

C
Clair
INFRA · APIS
2.5

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

◆ Current state

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

◆ Where it's heading

Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.

◆ Prediction

More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.

H
Huginn
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Huginn closes a JqAgent leak of server secrets and outbound proxy bypasses.

◆ Current state

Huginn has shipped near-weekly releases since August, mostly security fixes. v2026.11.09 starts jq with an empty environment so JqAgent filters can no longer read server environment variables, and enforces OUTBOUND_PROXY on HTTP paths that bypassed it, including JiraAgent and WeiboPublishAgent. Operators who enabled jq with untrusted users are told to rotate APP_SECRET_TOKEN and other credentials. It follows the 5 November XSS fixes and the Rails 8.1.4.1 upgrade.

◆ Where it's heading

An outside researcher's reports are driving a steady security audit of Huginn's agents, one agent type at a time. Each release narrows what a user-built agent can reach on the host.

◆ Prediction

More agent-level hardening is likely, especially for agents that run shell tools or make network calls, given the pattern of the last three releases. Whether this leads to a formal sandbox for user agents is not visible.

Alternatives to Clair and Huginn

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 Clair or Huginn.

See all Clair alternatives → · See all Huginn alternatives →

Recent activity from Clair and Huginn

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

  1. 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
  2. 5d agoHuginnHuginn fixes JqAgent secret leak and outbound proxy bypasses
  3. 9d agoHuginnRails 8.1.4.1 upgrade covers 21 security issues
  4. 9d agoHuginnFixes stored XSS in Agent pages, adds CSRF to user switching
  5. 12d agoHuginnHuginn adds a three-day cooldown for new gem releases
  6. 18d agoHuginnHuginn v2026.10.26: CA trust update and Agents page filters
  7. 21d agoHuginnRuby 4.0.9 security upgrade and localized web UI
  8. 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
  9. 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
  10. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
  11. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
  12. 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Clair and Huginn?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Huginn is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Clair better than Huginn?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Huginn is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 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 Clair?

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

What are the best alternatives to Huginn?

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