GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clair vs NGINX
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and NGINX — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:open-source
Clair vs NGINX: 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 NGINX?
nginx patched HTTP/3 twice in a month and is trimming old platform code on mainline.
nginx runs a 1.31 mainline and a 1.30 stable line. After 1.31.5 added a native control API, a JSON module and predicate locations in September, the following releases were mostly security: 1.31.6 and 1.30.5 fixed an HTTP/3 buffer overflow (CVE-2026-90439), then 1.31.7 and 1.30.6 fixed five more CVEs including HTTP/3 request body injection. 1.31.8 on October 21 removed the Win32 iocp event module and fixed further HTTP/3 issues.
Clair vs NGINX: 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.
NGINX
5.0INFRA · APIS
nginx patched HTTP/3 twice in a month and is trimming old platform code on mainline.
◆ Current state
nginx runs a 1.31 mainline and a 1.30 stable line. After 1.31.5 added a native control API, a JSON module and predicate locations in September, the following releases were mostly security: 1.31.6 and 1.30.5 fixed an HTTP/3 buffer overflow (CVE-2026-90439), then 1.31.7 and 1.30.6 fixed five more CVEs including HTTP/3 request body injection. 1.31.8 on October 21 removed the Win32 iocp event module and fixed further HTTP/3 issues.
◆ Where it's heading
HTTP/3 has needed fixes in each of the last three mainline releases, two of them CVEs. Mainline is adding features and removing legacy code at the same time, while stable gets the CVE backports.
◆ Prediction
More HTTP/3 fixes on both lines are likely; on mainline, follow-up work on the control API and JSON module is the next feature thread to watch.
Alternatives to Clair and NGINX
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 NGINX.
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.
Recent activity from Clair and NGINX
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 23d agoNGINXnginx 1.31.8 removes the Win32 iocp module, fixes HTTP/3
- 1mo agoNGINXnginx 1.31.7 fixes five CVEs on mainline
- 1mo agoNGINXnginx 1.30.6 fixes five CVEs including HTTP/3 injection
- 1mo agoNGINXnginx 1.30.5 fixes an HTTP/3 buffer overflow
- 1mo agoNGINXnginx 1.31.6 fixes HTTP/3 overflow and control API bugs
- 2mo agoNGINXrelease-1.31.5 ⚡
- 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 NGINX?
Both compete on the same themes — open-source — within Infra & APIs. NGINX 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 NGINX?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. NGINX 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 NGINX?
Top NGINX alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "NGINX alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nginx for the full list with editorial commentary on each.