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Comparison · Infra & APIs

LibreNMS vs Clair

A side-by-side editorial comparison of LibreNMS and Clair — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

LibreNMS vs Clair: at a glance

FeatureLibreNMSClair
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score5.02.5
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesnetwork monitoring, open source, bug fixes, maintenancecontainer-security, vulnerability-scanning, sbom, red-hat
Last editorial update19d ago7h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is LibreNMS?

LibreNMS is in maintenance mode, with point releases that fix or revert rather than add.

LibreNMS is an open-source network monitoring system on a monthly release train. Its last four releases are all bug-fix point releases: a billing-polling fix, a custom-map rollback, a revert for older fping versions, and one release with no notes.

Read the full LibreNMS trajectory →

What is Clair?

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

Read the full Clair trajectory →

LibreNMS vs Clair: editorial side-by-side

L
LibreNMS
INFRA · APIS
5.0

LibreNMS is in maintenance mode, with point releases that fix or revert rather than add.

◆ Current state

LibreNMS is an open-source network monitoring system on a monthly release train. Its last four releases are all bug-fix point releases: a billing-polling fix, a custom-map rollback, a revert for older fping versions, and one release with no notes.

◆ Where it's heading

Recent work is about stability, not scope. The project pulled the half-finished custom-map icon backgrounds and reverted a change that broke older installs, which suggests a cautious posture toward regressions in the field. These entries show no new capability.

◆ Prediction

The next monthly release will likely bring another round of polling and map fixes. The entries don't show where feature work is heading.

C
Clair
INFRA · APIS
2.5

Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.

◆ Current state

Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.

◆ Where it's heading

Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.

◆ Prediction

More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.

Alternatives to LibreNMS and Clair

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either LibreNMS or Clair.

See all LibreNMS alternatives → · See all Clair alternatives →

Recent activity from LibreNMS and Clair

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
  2. 23d agoLibreNMSLibreNMS 26.10.2: unspecified bug fixes
  3. 25d agoLibreNMS26.10.1 reverts change that broke older fping versions
  4. 1mo agoLibreNMSFixes billing polling, map pan/zoom and IPMI locales
  5. 1mo agoLibreNMS26.9.1: Custom Map, remove icon background circles (#20592)
  6. 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
  7. 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
  8. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
  9. 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
  10. 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between LibreNMS and Clair?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. LibreNMS is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is LibreNMS better than Clair?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. LibreNMS is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to LibreNMS?

Top LibreNMS alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "LibreNMS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/librenms for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Clair?

Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.