head to head · open source
npq vs cwe_checker
npq has 1,795 GitHub stars, 43 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. cwe_checker has 1,363 stars, 146 forks, 30 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. npq leads on adoption by 32% (1,795 vs 1,363 stars). npq is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; cwe_checker is written in Rust under LGPL-3.0. npq has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, cwe_checker 11%. npq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (security), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| npq | cwe_checker | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.8K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43 | ⑂ 146 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick npq if
- You weight community size — 1.8K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cwe_checker if
- You want the cwe_checker feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and cwe_checker fits your workflow better
About npq
npq allows you to audit npm packages before you install them TL;DR how to use npq: What it does: the npx tool downloads and execute npq package, runs an install check for the express package and dry run means npq exists regardless of success/errors . Here's a screenshot of npq in action: Media coverage about npq: As mentioned on Thomas Gentilhomme's French book of Become a Node.js Developer Tao Bojlén's A web of trust for npm Zander's favorite list of command line tools Ran Bar Zik's npq review to install safe modules ostechnix's How To Safely Install Packages Using Npm Or Yarn On Linux debricked's How to…
About cwe_checker
cwe checker What is cwe checker? cwe checker is a suite of checks to detect common bug classes such as Null pointer dereferences and buffer overflows. These bug classes are formally known as Common Weakness Enumerations (CWEs). The checks are based on a variety of anaylsis techniques ranging from simple heuristics to abstract interpretation based data flow analysis. Its main goal is to aid analysts to quickly find potentially vulnerable code paths. Its main focus are ELF binaries that are commonly found on Linux and Unix operating systems. The cwe checker uses Ghidra to disassemble binaries into one common…
read the full cwe_checker overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is npq or cwe_checker more popular?
npq has 1,795 GitHub stars and cwe_checker has 1,363. npq has the larger community by that measure.
Are npq and cwe_checker free?
Both are open source. npq is licensed under Apache-2.0 and cwe_checker under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between npq and cwe_checker?
npq is written in JavaScript and cwe_checker in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, npq or cwe_checker?
Choose npq if you want the larger community (1,795 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose cwe_checker if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.