Apache RAT vs SourceTrust

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.

SourceTrust helps teams review third-party software licenses and publish shareable compliance pages for shipped products. It collects direct and transitive dependencies from repositories, lockfiles, and SBOMs into one inventory. The service retrieves each shipped package, compares it with the registry digest, and reads the license text inside. Nothing is published until a team reviews and confirms the record, while packages needing a decision are flagged. Connections include GitHub, GitLab, and Azure DevOps, with lockfile and SBOM imports across 14 formats and 9 ecosystems. Outputs include a hosted attestation page, THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES.md, NOTICE, CycloneDX, SPDX, JSON, CSV, plist, and branded PDF. Repository synchronization and publish-drift checks identify changes from the published snapshot. Pages can be password-protected or excluded from search engines. Eligible public GitHub projects can publish for $0 under fair use and attribution. Yearly project billing is $299.00 per year.