Hayabusa vs Timesketch
Hayabusa
github.comTimesketch
timesketch.orgSide by side
| Figure | Hayabusa | Timesketch |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Digital Forensics Software | 7.9 (#12) | 7.6 (#17) |
| Integrations | The project documents importing results into Elastic Stack, Timesketch, and Timeline Explorer, and analyzing JSON with jq. | Documented analyzer integrations include Sigma, Google Safe Browsing, BigQuery, Yeti, and HashR. |
| Purpose | Hayabusa is a Windows event log forensics timeline generator and threat hunting tool. | Timesketch is an open-source tool for collaborative forensic timeline analysis. |
| Security | Hayabusa is written in Rust, which the project describes as memory-safe. | The installation guide documents optional TLS setup for the web server. |
| Support | The maintainers invite bug reports through GitHub and say the project is actively maintained and they are happy to fix reported bugs. | The project lists user and developer mailing lists and a Timesketch Slack community as resources. |
Plans
In their own words
Hayabusa
Hayabusa is a free, open-source tool for Windows event log forensics and threat hunting. It processes EVTX logs from one host or thousands into CSV, JSON or JSONL timelines. Analysis features include computer and event ID metrics, logon summaries, keyword pivoting, HTML summary reports and MITRE ATT&CK mapping. It supports the Sigma specification, including v2 correlation rules; the project describes its curated detection rules as numbering over 4,000. The project says its multithreaded Rust implementation can deliver up to a 5x speed improvement and describes Rust as memory-safe. Hayabusa can run live on one system, process collected logs offline or hunt across endpoints through the Velociraptor Hayabusa artifact. Results can be imported into Elastic Stack, Timesketch and Timeline Explorer, while JSON can be analyzed with jq. Special Windows live-response packages bundle the program with encoded rules and configuration files to reduce files written to the system and help avoid antivirus false positives on YAML rule files. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, but no Linux ARM MUSL binary is provided because it does not run properly. The software uses AGPLv3; detection rules use DRL 1.1.
Timesketch
Timesketch is a free, open-source tool for collaborative forensic timeline analysis. A sketch normally represents one case and can contain multiple timelines, views, comments and stories. Investigators can search and filter timelines, inspect data in charts and save discoveries as views. Sketches may be private or shared with individuals, groups or all system users. Supported imports include Plaso storage files, CSV, JSON, JSONL, Pandas DataFrames, Python dictionaries and spreadsheet files. Python analyzers run in background workers to enrich events, add tags or create saved views; documented integrations include Sigma, Google Safe Browsing, BigQuery, Yeti and HashR. Sigma support is marked alpha with known performance and functionality issues. Timesketch offers a web interface, REST API and command-line client. Docker is the only tested and actively maintained installation method; documentation calls for Ubuntu 22.04 and at least 8 GB of RAM. Indexes depend on physical disk space, and searches may fail above 150 indices in a timeline. The self-hosted plan is free.