GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
SuperTokens vs Clair
A side-by-side editorial comparison of SuperTokens and Clair — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
SuperTokens vs Clair: at a glance
What is SuperTokens?
SuperTokens tags 12.0.12 three weeks after its seven-advisory security release.
SuperTokens is a self-hostable auth backend. v12.0.12 on Nov 5 ships with only a compare link and no notes. The previous release, 12.0.11, fixed seven advisories, added SAML replay protection and made IdP-initiated SAML login require an ACS URL allow-list. The v12.3.0 canary in September added an activity log of user lifecycle events.
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.
SuperTokens vs Clair: editorial side-by-side
SuperTokens
5.0INFRA · APIS
SuperTokens tags 12.0.12 three weeks after its seven-advisory security release.
◆ Current state
SuperTokens is a self-hostable auth backend. v12.0.12 on Nov 5 ships with only a compare link and no notes. The previous release, 12.0.11, fixed seven advisories, added SAML replay protection and made IdP-initiated SAML login require an ACS URL allow-list. The v12.3.0 canary in September added an activity log of user lifecycle events.
◆ Where it's heading
The stable 12.0 line is in patch mode, mostly security, while lifecycle events mature in the canary line. The gap between canary features and stable releases is still open.
◆ Prediction
It is unclear from the feed when the activity log reaches stable; more 12.0.x patches are the likely near-term output.
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 SuperTokens 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 SuperTokens 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.
See all SuperTokens alternatives → · See all Clair alternatives →
Recent activity from SuperTokens and Clair
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 8d agoSuperTokensSuperTokens 12.0.12 patch (no notes published)
- 28d agoSuperTokensSuperTokens 12.0.11: SAML replay protection and seven security fixes
- 2mo agoSuperTokensSuperTokens v12.3: Activity log and lifecycle event system ⚡
- 3mo agoSuperTokensSuperTokens v12.0.10: SAML hardening
- 4mo agoSuperTokensSuperTokens v12.0.5: Account linking fixes and migration guard
- 4mo agoSuperTokensv12.0.4-canary
- 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 SuperTokens and Clair?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SuperTokens 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 SuperTokens better than Clair?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SuperTokens 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 SuperTokens?
Top SuperTokens alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SuperTokens alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/supertokens 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.