GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clair vs Routinator
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and Routinator — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Clair vs Routinator: 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 Routinator?
Routinator 0.16 now validates ASPA and BGPsec, and runs strict, by default
Routinator is a mature RPKI validator with a slow, release-candidate-gated cadence. 0.16.0 shipped on 6 November with the candidate's defaults: ASPA and BGPsec on, strict validation on, the old flags replaced by --disable-aspa, --disable-bgpsec and --relaxed, plus RSC (RFC 9323), SLURM v2 and a new repository logging scheme that changes the /status JSON. Three days later 0.16.1 fixed a crash on start when TLS is enabled for the HTTP or RTR servers.
Clair vs Routinator: 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.
Routinator
5.0INFRA · APIS
Routinator 0.16 now validates ASPA and BGPsec, and runs strict, by default
◆ Current state
Routinator is a mature RPKI validator with a slow, release-candidate-gated cadence. 0.16.0 shipped on 6 November with the candidate's defaults: ASPA and BGPsec on, strict validation on, the old flags replaced by --disable-aspa, --disable-bgpsec and --relaxed, plus RSC (RFC 9323), SLURM v2 and a new repository logging scheme that changes the /status JSON. Three days later 0.16.1 fixed a crash on start when TLS is enabled for the HTTP or RTR servers.
◆ Where it's heading
After a year of security fixes, Routinator has moved route-origin hardening from opt-in to default, which shifts the work onto operators who must now opt out. The quick 0.16.1 suggests the new release is meeting more varied deployments than the candidate did.
◆ Prediction
Further 0.16.x fixes as operators upgrade into the new defaults are the likely next releases; nothing in the entries points to new features soon.
Alternatives to Clair and Routinator
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 Routinator.
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 Routinator alternatives →
Recent activity from Clair and Routinator
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 4d agoRoutinator0.16.1 fixes a crash on start with TLS enabled
- 8d agoRoutinator0.16.0 turns on ASPA, BGPsec and strict validation by default
- 15d agoRoutinatorRoutinator 0.16.0-rc1: ASPA, BGPsec and strict mode on by default
- 18d agoRoutinatorRoutinator 0.15.3 fixes resource-exhaustion paths
- 5mo agoRoutinatorSecurity audit closes four CVEs in 0.15.2
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 1y agoRoutinator0.15.1 stops empty-dataset starts and unblocks privileged ports
- 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 Routinator?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Routinator 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 Routinator?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Routinator 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 Routinator?
Top Routinator alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Routinator alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/routinator for the full list with editorial commentary on each.