Apache RAT vs FossID Workbench

Apache RAT is a free, open-source release-audit tool for checking software distributions, with particular attention to license headers. Version 0.18 provides a command-line client, an Ant task library, and a Maven plugin. You can include or exclude files using patterns, collections, pattern files, and file-size limits; apply approved-license lists; and produce plain, XML, missing-header, or unapproved-license reports. The Maven plugin can write target/rat.txt or add a report to a generated site. RAT can add Apache-2.0 headers and copyright notices to files allowed by configuration. XML license definitions are supported, and experienced users can extend matchers, formats, reports, and interfaces. It runs on Linux and is intended for self-hosted, on-premise use. Building requires Java 17, with Maven 3.9.13 or later recommended. Reports need interpretation and project-specific tuning, and heuristics can miss issues.

FossID Workbench is a software composition analysis tool for identifying and governing third-party software in codebases. It analyzes direct and transitive dependencies, scans unmanaged source code across programming languages, and detects embedded open-source snippets, including modified code. ID Assist proposes component identifications, while License Extractor extracts file-level license text. Vulnerable Snippet Finder locates code blocks linked to CVEs, with VEX data adding exploitability context. Workbench creates, imports, consolidates, and exports software bills of materials with component, license, vulnerability, and usage information in SPDX or CycloneDX formats. Policy Management can enforce license, security, and usage rules across projects. GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket imports are supported, alongside CI/CD scanning, gating, pull-request notifications, and API workflows. Deployment options include cloud, hybrid, on-premises, and offline air-gapped setups. It supports many ecosystems, including JavaScript, Java/Kotlin, Python, Rust, Go, C/C++, .NET, and others. Pricing is available on request.