GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Nomad vs Clair
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Nomad and Clair — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Nomad vs Clair: at a glance
What is Nomad?
Nomad 2.1's first candidate brings an experimental batch job queue.
Nomad's feed tracks Enterprise releases on the 1.10 and 1.11 lines, cut in matched pairs with the same fixes, plus the 2.x candidates. On 28 October 1.11.12 and 1.10.18 closed cross-namespace information leaks in several APIs and hardened client file handling, following July's two Docker CVEs and a cross-namespace volume delete. 2.1.0-rc.1 on 20 October added an experimental batch job queue with FIFO and dynamic priority modes.
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.
Nomad vs Clair: editorial side-by-side
Nomad
5.0INFRA · APIS
Nomad 2.1's first candidate brings an experimental batch job queue.
◆ Current state
Nomad's feed tracks Enterprise releases on the 1.10 and 1.11 lines, cut in matched pairs with the same fixes, plus the 2.x candidates. On 28 October 1.11.12 and 1.10.18 closed cross-namespace information leaks in several APIs and hardened client file handling, following July's two Docker CVEs and a cross-namespace volume delete. 2.1.0-rc.1 on 20 October added an experimental batch job queue with FIFO and dynamic priority modes.
◆ Where it's heading
Security work keeps centring on namespace boundaries, which matters most to multi-tenant clusters. On the feature side, the batch queue moves Nomad toward HPC- and batch-style scheduling alongside its service workloads.
◆ Prediction
Nomad 2.1.0 final is the likely next entry, with the batch queue still marked experimental.
Clair
2.5INFRA · APIS
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 Nomad 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 Nomad or Clair.
Payload CMS
Payload's v4 beta.9 keeps every past image crop and raises the Node floor again.
Nautobot
Nautobot 3.3 alpha 2 adds test helpers and a cable location filter after 3.2.9's token-leak fix.
Shuffle
Shuffle tags builds almost daily, but the notes are empty.
KrakenD
KrakenD's community edition is shipping only dependency bumps.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor's recent releases are mostly about patching CVEs.
Recent activity from Nomad and Clair
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 16d agoNomadNomad 1.10.18 Enterprise backports namespace security fixes
- 16d agoNomadNomad 1.11.12 Enterprise closes cross-namespace API leaks
- 24d agoNomadNomad 2.1.0-rc.1: experimental batch job queue
- 4mo agoNomadTwo Docker CVEs and a cross-namespace volume delete
- 4mo agoNomadSame CVE batch backported to the 1.10 line
- 5mo agoNomadDebug bundle redaction, Vault retries, template restart fix
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
- 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Nomad and Clair?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Nomad 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 Nomad better than Clair?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Nomad 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 Nomad?
Top Nomad alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Nomad alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nomad 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.