GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clair vs NetBox
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and NetBox — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Clair vs NetBox: at a glance
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.
What is NetBox?
NetBox 4.7.5 batches its slowest queries and stops a delete from taking circuits with it.
Five 4.7 patches have followed the September 4.7.0 release. 4.7.5 batches related-object loading in export templates, global search, cable listings and GraphQL, adds three more trunk cable profiles, and fixes a bug where deleting a region or site group also deleted circuit terminations at its sites. Earlier patches fixed a plaintext API token leak in job results and restored hierarchy triggers lost on database restore.
Clair vs NetBox: editorial side-by-side
Clair
2.5INFRA · APIS
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.
NetBox
5.0INFRA · APIS
NetBox 4.7.5 batches its slowest queries and stops a delete from taking circuits with it.
◆ Current state
Five 4.7 patches have followed the September 4.7.0 release. 4.7.5 batches related-object loading in export templates, global search, cable listings and GraphQL, adds three more trunk cable profiles, and fixes a bug where deleting a region or site group also deleted circuit terminations at its sites. Earlier patches fixed a plaintext API token leak in job results and restored hierarchy triggers lost on database restore.
◆ Where it's heading
The 4.7 line has turned into a sustained performance and correctness pass. Query batching now reaches REST, GraphQL, search and export templates, and each patch closes permission and data-integrity gaps such as image attachments shown to users who cannot view them. Cooling modelling from 4.7.0 has had no visible follow-up yet.
◆ Prediction
More 4.7.x patches on the same two-week rhythm with further query batching are likely; the entries do not show what 4.8 will contain.
Alternatives to Clair and NetBox
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 NetBox.
Payload CMS
Payload's v4 beta.9 keeps every past image crop and raises the Node floor again.
Nautobot
Nautobot 3.3 alpha 2 adds test helpers and a cable location filter after 3.2.9's token-leak fix.
Shuffle
Shuffle tags builds almost daily, but the notes are empty.
KrakenD
KrakenD's community edition is shipping only dependency bumps.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor's recent releases are mostly about patching CVEs.
See all Clair alternatives → · See all NetBox alternatives →
Recent activity from Clair and NetBox
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 14h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 3d agoNetBox4.7.5 batches API queries and stops a cascade delete of circuits
- 17d agoNetBox4.7.4 adds change-log IDs to webhooks, renames a GraphQL enum
- 1mo agoNetBox4.7.3 speeds up REST serialisation and fixes cable paths
- 1mo agoNetBox4.7.2 stops API tokens leaking into job results
- 1mo agoNetBox4.7.1 restores hierarchy triggers lost on database restore
- 2mo agoNetBoxNetBox v4.7.0 ⚡
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
- 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Clair and NetBox?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. NetBox 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 NetBox?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. NetBox 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 NetBox?
Top NetBox alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "NetBox alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/netbox for the full list with editorial commentary on each.