← Back to home
Comparison · Infra & APIs

Semgrep vs Skipper

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

Semgrep vs Skipper: at a glance

FeatureSemgrepSkipper
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themessast, supply-chain, language-support, objective-creverse-proxy, routing, security, opa
Last editorial update2d ago2d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Semgrep?

Semgrep adds Objective-C as an alpha target, its first new language since Dart went GA.

Semgrep ships weekly on two tracks. Supply Chain added Bazel Maven workspaces in 1.177, Bun lockfiles in 1.179 and unpinned Python requirements in 1.181. The matcher promoted Dart to GA in 1.180. 1.182 adds Objective-C (alpha) with search- and taint-mode rules, and updates the C# Pro, Terraform HCL and Lua grammars.

Read the full Semgrep trajectory →

What is Skipper?

Skipper patches its second filter advisory in a week, this one in the OPA request-body filter.

Skipper keeps tagging one release per merge. v0.28.46 fixes advisory GHSA-j3r3-rjcc-vh4q in the opaAuthorizeRequestWithBody filter, reported by an outside researcher, a week after the cache() advisory fix. Between them came v0.28.40's priority routes for binary users, raw-path predicates, and fixes for a JWT cache leak, a headerToQuery bug and an AWS signer data race; v0.28.45 only repairs CI test targets.

Read the full Skipper trajectory →

Semgrep vs Skipper: editorial side-by-side

S
Semgrep
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Semgrep adds Objective-C as an alpha target, its first new language since Dart went GA.

◆ Current state

Semgrep ships weekly on two tracks. Supply Chain added Bazel Maven workspaces in 1.177, Bun lockfiles in 1.179 and unpinned Python requirements in 1.181. The matcher promoted Dart to GA in 1.180. 1.182 adds Objective-C (alpha) with search- and taint-mode rules, and updates the C# Pro, Terraform HCL and Lua grammars.

◆ Where it's heading

Language coverage is widening toward Apple-platform code, where .m files have so far sat outside Semgrep's rules, and Objective-C++ is promised separately. On the dependency side, Python requirements handling keeps moving toward how people write manifests by hand rather than how pip-compile emits them.

◆ Prediction

Expect Objective-C++ (.mm) support next, as the 1.182 notes say, and Objective-C moving out of alpha. The open item from 1.181, turning unpinned Python deps into findings, has no date yet.

S
Skipper
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Skipper patches its second filter advisory in a week, this one in the OPA request-body filter.

◆ Current state

Skipper keeps tagging one release per merge. v0.28.46 fixes advisory GHSA-j3r3-rjcc-vh4q in the opaAuthorizeRequestWithBody filter, reported by an outside researcher, a week after the cache() advisory fix. Between them came v0.28.40's priority routes for binary users, raw-path predicates, and fixes for a JWT cache leak, a headerToQuery bug and an AWS signer data race; v0.28.45 only repairs CI test targets.

◆ Where it's heading

Security hardening at the routing layer is the main thread: outside researchers are reporting filter-level advisories, and the maintainers are answering with fixes plus tools like priority routes that let operators block suspicious paths before any backend sees them. Around that, correctness fixes for concurrency and lifecycle bugs keep landing one tag at a time, and CI coverage is being repaired so race tests actually run.

◆ Prediction

Expect more advisory fixes in filters that inspect request bodies or paths, and more single-fix tags. The entries don't say whether the advisory details will be published with them.

Alternatives to Semgrep and Skipper

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 Semgrep or Skipper.

See all Semgrep alternatives → · See all Skipper alternatives →

Recent activity from Semgrep and Skipper

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

  1. 2d agoSkipperv0.28.47: Go toolchain bump for upstream security fixes
  2. 2d agoSemgrepObjective-C alpha support; C#, Terraform and Lua grammars updated
  3. 2d agoSkipperSecurity fix for opaAuthorizeRequestWithBody advisory
  4. 3d agoSkipperCI fix restores REST package tests and race checks
  5. 4d agoSkipperAWS signer filter fixes a concurrent-request data race
  6. 4d agoSkipperheaderToQuery stops blanking query params when header is absent
  7. 4d agoSkipperJWT predicate cache stops leaking memory for removed routes
  8. 8d agoSemgrepSupply Chain inventories unpinned Python requirements
  9. 15d agoSemgrepDart reaches GA; QL language support removed
  10. 21d agoSemgrepSupply Chain adds Bun bun.lock parsing
  11. 29d agoSemgrepTree-sitter runtime bump and Windows hang fix
  12. 1mo agoSemgrepNative Supply Chain support for Bazel workspaces ⚡

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Semgrep and Skipper?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Semgrep and Skipper are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Semgrep better than Skipper?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Semgrep and Skipper are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Semgrep?

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

What are the best alternatives to Skipper?

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