head to head · open source
SkillSpector vs Adrian
SkillSpector has 23,981 GitHub stars, 2,070 forks, 136 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Adrian has 589 stars, 96 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. SkillSpector leads on adoption by 3,971% (23,981 vs 589 stars). SkillSpector is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Adrian is written in Python under Apache-2.0. SkillSpector has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Adrian 16%. SkillSpector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (agent-security, agentic-ai, ai-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
| SkillSpector | Adrian | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 589 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 96 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SkillSpector if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Adrian if
- You want the Adrian feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Adrian fits your workflow better
About SkillSpector
SkillSpector Security scanner for AI agent skills. Detect vulnerabilities, malicious patterns, and security risks before installing agent skills. Overview AI agent skills (used by Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, etc.) execute with implicit trust and minimal vetting. In the 31,132 skill analyzed subset of the research dataset, 26.1% of skills contain vulnerabilities and 5.2% show likely malicious intent . SkillSpector helps you answer: "Is this skill safe to install?" SkillSpector is part of the NVIDIA Verified Skills pipeline, which scans, evaluates, and signs agent skills before publication. Skills that…
read the full SkillSpector overview →
About Adrian
Agent attacks slip past static analysis and network monitoring. Adrian catches them at runtime, by watching what the agent actually does (its actions and its reasoning) and stepping in before it acts. Open source, free forever. +35% detection accuracy · 4x more nuanced attacks caught vs behaviour only monitoring ( OpenAI & DeepMind research ) ⭐ If you think agents need a runtime security layer, star the repo. It is how new people find Adrian, and how we know to keep building it in the open. Adrian is an open source, AARM aligned runtime security monitoring and control engine for AI agents. It analyses both agent…
read the full Adrian overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SkillSpector or Adrian more popular?
SkillSpector has 23,981 GitHub stars and Adrian has 589. SkillSpector has the larger community by that measure.
Are SkillSpector and Adrian free?
Both are open source. SkillSpector is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Adrian under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SkillSpector and Adrian?
SkillSpector is written in Python and Adrian in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, SkillSpector or Adrian?
Choose SkillSpector if you want the larger community (23,981 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Adrian if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.