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Tool Comparison
VS
At a Glance
| Attribute | Clair | Trivy |
|---|---|---|
| License / Pricing | Open Source | Open Source |
| Type | DevOps | DevOps |
| GitHub Stars | — | — |
| Rating | 4/5 | 4.7/5 |
| Key Features | 6 listed | 6 listed |
| Integrations | 3 listed | 6 listed |
| Categories | SecurityContainer SecurityVulnerability Scanning | SecurityContainer SecurityVulnerability Scanning |
Key Features
Clair
- Scans container images against multiple vulnerability databases (NVD, Alpine, Debian, RHEL)
- REST API for integration with registries and CI/CD pipelines
- Incremental image analysis using layer-based caching
- Notification service for alerting on newly published CVEs affecting existing images
- Used by Quay.io as the default scanning backend
- Supports OCI, Docker v2, and manifest list image formats
Trivy
- Scans container images, filesystems, Git repos, and Kubernetes clusters
- Detects OS package vulnerabilities, language dependencies, and IaC misconfigurations
- Secret scanning for accidentally committed credentials
- SBOM generation in CycloneDX and SPDX formats
- Fast local scanning with no daemon or server required
- Native integrations with CI/CD pipelines and Kubernetes admission controllers
Real-World Use Cases
Clair
Registry-integrated vulnerability scanning
Deploy Clair alongside a container registry (Quay, Harbor, or custom)
Trivy
Container image scanning in CI/CD
Add a Trivy scan step after the Docker build in the CI pipeline
Kubernetes cluster misconfiguration audit
Run trivy k8s --report summary cluster to scan all running workloads
Integrations
Clair
dockerkubernetesgithub-actions
Trivy
dockerkubernetesgithub-actionsgitlab-ci-cdjenkinsaqua
🏆 Which should you choose?
Choose Clair if…
- → you're already in the Security ecosystem and prefer Clair's workflow
Choose Trivy if…
- → you're already in the Security ecosystem and prefer Trivy's workflow