ACL2 vs CPAchecker
ACL2
acl2.orgCPAchecker
cpachecker.sosy-lab.orgSide by side
| Figure | ACL2 | CPAchecker |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 1 |
| Spec score · Formal Verification Tools | 7.8 (#14) | 8.0 (#10) |
| Documentation | Documentation is available online, as downloadable local manuals, through an Emacs browser, and at the ACL2 terminal with the :doc command. | The documentation page links to installation instructions, getting-started guidance, tutorials, and a counterexample report for a program with a bug found by CPAchecker. |
| Purpose | ACL2 combines a Lisp-based programming language for formal models with a reasoning engine that can prove properties about those models. | CPAchecker is a tool for configurable software verification based on configurable program analysis concepts. |
| Release | The installation page identifies version 8.7 as the latest stable release and says it does not include improvements or fixes made since March 2026. | The download page lists version 4.2.2, released in December 2025, with Unix and Windows ZIP archives. |
| Support | ACL2 users can get help through the acl2-help mailing list, which the site recommends to new users. | The project directs installation questions, bug reports, and suggestions to its CPAchecker users mailing list, and also provides an issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
CPAchecker
CPAchecker is a configurable software verification tool based on configurable program analysis concepts. It accepts C and SV-LIB inputs, lists predicate analysis for SV-LIB programs, and supports invariants, counterexamples, and proof artifacts. It can also validate termination witnesses in YAML formats 2.1 and 1.0. The project lists a hybrid verification method and provides a self-hosted deployment. CPAchecker is free software under the Apache 2.0 License. Version 4.2.2, released in December 2025, is available as Unix and Windows ZIP archives; Debian and Ubuntu users can install it from the SoSy-Lab APT repository, and a Docker image is available. Java 21 or later is required as of version 4.2. An older version, 1.6.1, can be accessed through a web interface, where some functions are unavailable in the restricted environment. Documentation includes installation instructions, tutorials, and getting-started guidance. Installation questions, bug reports, and suggestions can go to the users mailing list or issue tracker. The project is based in Munich, Germany.