head to head · open source
SkillSpector vs garak
SkillSpector has 17,624 GitHub stars, 1,504 forks, 136 open issues and last shipped yesterday. garak has 9,285 stars, 1,290 forks, 429 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. SkillSpector leads on adoption by 90% (17,624 vs 9,285 stars). SkillSpector is written in Python under Apache-2.0; garak is written in Python under Apache-2.0. SkillSpector has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, garak 14%. SkillSpector was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | garak | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 garak if
- You want the garak 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 garak 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 garak
garak is a free, Apache 2.0 command line vulnerability scanner for large language models that probes generative AI systems for hallucination, data leakage, prompt injection, misinformation, toxicity generation, and jailbreaks, and it is aimed at security engineers, red teamers, and AI developers who need to test the models they ship.
read the full garak overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SkillSpector or garak more popular?
SkillSpector has 17,624 GitHub stars and garak has 9,285. SkillSpector has the larger community by that measure.
Are SkillSpector and garak free?
Both are open source. SkillSpector is licensed under Apache-2.0 and garak under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SkillSpector and garak?
SkillSpector is written in Python and garak 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 garak?
Choose SkillSpector if you want the larger community (17,624 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose garak if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.