head to head · open source
SkillSpector vs lean-ctx
SkillSpector has 20,627 GitHub stars, 1,808 forks, 136 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lean-ctx has 3,890 stars, 353 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SkillSpector leads on adoption by 430% (20,627 vs 3,890 stars). SkillSpector is written in Python under Apache-2.0; lean-ctx is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. SkillSpector has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, lean-ctx 9%. lean-ctx was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai-security, claude-code), 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 | lean-ctx | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-19 | 2026-10-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 353 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SkillSpector if
- You weight community size — 21K 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 lean-ctx if
- You want the lean-ctx feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and lean-ctx 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 lean-ctx
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read the full lean-ctx overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SkillSpector or lean-ctx more popular?
SkillSpector has 20,627 GitHub stars and lean-ctx has 3,890. SkillSpector has the larger community by that measure.
Are SkillSpector and lean-ctx free?
Both are open source. SkillSpector is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lean-ctx under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SkillSpector and lean-ctx?
SkillSpector is written in Python and lean-ctx 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, SkillSpector or lean-ctx?
Choose SkillSpector if you want the larger community (20,627 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lean-ctx if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.