head to head · open source
osv-scanner vs npq
osv-scanner has 11,503 GitHub stars, 849 forks, 113 open issues and last shipped yesterday. npq has 1,796 stars, 43 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. osv-scanner leads on adoption by 540% (11,503 vs 1,796 stars). osv-scanner is written in Go under Apache-2.0; npq is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. osv-scanner has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, npq 2%. osv-scanner was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (security-audit, security-tools), 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
| osv-scanner | npq | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 12K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-12 | 2026-11-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 849 | ⑂ 43 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick osv-scanner if
- You weight community size — 12K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick npq if
- You want the npq feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and npq fits your workflow better
About osv-scanner
Use OSV Scanner to find existing vulnerabilities affecting your project's dependencies. OSV Scanner provides an officially supported frontend to the OSV database and CLI interface to OSV Scalibr that connects a project’s list of dependencies with the vulnerabilities that affect them. OSV Scanner supports a wide range of project types, package managers and features, including but not limited to: Languages: C/C++, Dart, Elixir, Go, Java, Javascript, PHP, Python, R, Ruby, Rust. Package Managers: npm, pip, yarn, maven, go modules, cargo, gem, composer, nuget and others. Operating Systems: Detects vulnerabilities in…
read the full osv-scanner overview →
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…
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Frequently asked questions
Is osv-scanner or npq more popular?
osv-scanner has 11,503 GitHub stars and npq has 1,796. osv-scanner has the larger community by that measure.
Are osv-scanner and npq free?
Both are open source. osv-scanner is licensed under Apache-2.0 and npq under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between osv-scanner and npq?
osv-scanner is written in Go and npq in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, osv-scanner or npq?
Choose osv-scanner if you want the larger community (11,503 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose npq if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.