ClearlyDefined vs ScanCode Toolkit
ClearlyDefined
clearlydefined.ioScanCode Toolkit
scancode-toolkit.readthedocs.ioSide by side
| Figure | ClearlyDefined | ScanCode Toolkit |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Open Source License Compliance Software | 8.0 (#10) | 7.7 (#14) |
| Purpose | ClearlyDefined is an open source project that crowdsources the gathering, curation, and upstreaming of licensing, security, and other data about free and open source projects. | ScanCode Toolkit scans codebases to detect code origin, copyrights, licenses, vulnerabilities, packages and dependencies. |
Plans
In their own words
ClearlyDefined
ClearlyDefined has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
ScanCode Toolkit
ScanCode Toolkit is a free tool for scanning codebases for origin, copyrights, licenses, vulnerabilities, packages, and dependencies. It can run as a command-line tool or as a library within an application. Its license detection compares text extracted from files with an index of license texts and rules. Scanning can recursively unpack archives and extract text from binary files when needed, while package support covers manifests, lockfiles, and package datafiles. Results can be saved as JSON, YAML, JSON Lines, HTML, SPDX, Debian copyright, or CycloneDX; CSV is marked deprecated. JSON results can feed ScanCode Workbench and other applications that accept ScanCode data. Plugins extend processing stages, and external plugins can add license data. Installation options include release archives, Docker, source, pip, and Fedora’s repository. Linux, macOS, and Windows are listed as tested platforms, with 64-bit operating system and Python requirements. The project points users to community Slack and GitHub discussions for help; scan output is provided without warranties and is not legal advice.