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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Clair vs Infisical

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

Clair vs Infisical: at a glance

FeatureClairInfisical
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themescontainer-security, vulnerability-scanning, sbom, red-hatsecrets-management, ai-agents, agent-vault, pki
Last editorial update7h ago10h 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 Infisical?

Infisical's Agent Vault learns to find services, with database and SSH access built in.

Infisical released v0.167.9 and v0.167.10 on November 13. v0.167.9 is a large release: Agent Vault adds service discovery, service descriptions, a built-in skill, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SSH services, MCP templates for six more providers and services packaged into access bundles. It also publishes KMS public keys as a JWKS, pins outbound connections to validated IPs and applies approval policies to certificate renewals. v0.167.10 lets users request a narrower path inside a glob access policy.

Read the full Infisical trajectory →

Clair vs Infisical: 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.

I
Infisical
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Infisical's Agent Vault learns to find services, with database and SSH access built in.

◆ Current state

Infisical released v0.167.9 and v0.167.10 on November 13. v0.167.9 is a large release: Agent Vault adds service discovery, service descriptions, a built-in skill, PostgreSQL, MySQL and SSH services, MCP templates for six more providers and services packaged into access bundles. It also publishes KMS public keys as a JWKS, pins outbound connections to validated IPs and applies approval policies to certificate renewals. v0.167.10 lets users request a narrower path inside a glob access policy.

◆ Where it's heading

Agent Vault, Infisical's credential broker for AI agents, gets new capability in nearly every release, moving from proxy tokens and MCP allowlists toward a catalog of services agents can discover and reach. Alongside it, the PKI, KMS and access-request features keep filling enterprise gaps. Releases come every two to four days.

◆ Prediction

Expect more Agent Vault service types and MCP templates, and access bundles to become the main way Agent Vault permissions are granted.

Alternatives to Clair and Infisical

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 Infisical.

See all Clair alternatives → · See all Infisical alternatives →

Recent activity from Clair and Infisical

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

  1. 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
  2. 21h agoInfisicalv0.167.10
  3. 1d agoInfisicalInfisical v0.167.9: Agent Vault service discovery, DB and SSH
  4. 3d agoInfisicalInfisical v0.167.8: billing management, PKI CSR import
  5. 5d agoInfisicalInfisical v0.167.7: Agent Vault access management, E2B guide
  6. 10d agoInfisicalInfisical v0.167.6: Agent Vault MCP allowlist, SSO MFA trust
  7. 11d agoInfisicalInfisical v0.167.5 drops react-select, fixes org links
  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 Infisical?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Infisical 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 Infisical?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Infisical 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 Infisical?

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