head to head · open source
SkillSpector vs akto
SkillSpector has 17,624 GitHub stars, 1,504 forks, 136 open issues and last shipped yesterday. akto has 1,516 stars, 292 forks, 347 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SkillSpector leads on adoption by 1,063% (17,624 vs 1,516 stars). SkillSpector is written in Python under Apache-2.0; akto is written in Java under MIT. SkillSpector has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, akto 19%. SkillSpector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | akto | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 292 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SkillSpector if
- You weight community size — 18K 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 akto if
- You want the akto feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and akto fits your workflow better
About SkillSpector
SkillSpector is an open source security scanner for AI agent skills that detects vulnerabilities, malicious patterns, prompt injection, data exfiltration, and supply chain risk in Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and MCP skills before they are installed — built for developers who install agent skills and for security teams that vet or publish them.
read the full SkillSpector overview →
About akto
Akto is an open source Java project under the MIT license. Its metadata presents it as an AI security platform for teams that secure AI agents, MCPs, LLMs, Agent skills, and Gen AI apps, while its README describes it as an open source API security platform. It lives in the open source API security and AI security ecosystem.
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Frequently asked questions
Is SkillSpector or akto more popular?
SkillSpector has 17,624 GitHub stars and akto has 1,516. SkillSpector has the larger community by that measure.
Are SkillSpector and akto free?
Both are open source. SkillSpector is licensed under Apache-2.0 and akto under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SkillSpector and akto?
SkillSpector is written in Python and akto in Java. 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 akto?
Choose SkillSpector if you want the larger community (17,624 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose akto if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.