Notation vs SignPath

Notation is a command-line tool for signing and verifying container images and other artifacts in OCI registries, including software bills of materials. It implements the Notary Project specifications, which are intended to help secure software supply chains. Its signatures can move between OCI registries and be validated in connected, intermittently connected, or disconnected environments without additional server infrastructure. The specifications define signature envelopes using COSE or JWS. Notation can integrate with existing key management systems through a plugin model, with instructions for Azure Key Vault and AWS Signer. Developers and CI/CD pipelines can create signatures and store them alongside signed artifacts. The project provides a quick start for signing and validating a container image. Notation runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is free under the Apache 2.0 license. Cloud signing, trusted timestamping, and CI/CD signing are listed capabilities; a certificate is not provided. The specifications repository lists a 2023 security audit, and the project overview describes continuous fuzz testing across three repositories.

SignPath provides code signing and software integrity controls for builds and releases. Its format-aware signing covers executables, packages, installers, containers, scripts, manifests, SBOMs, and configuration files. Before trusting a release, it can verify source repositories, branches, build systems, approvals, and CI/CD context. SignPath can produce signed, machine-readable attestations, including SLSA provenance, validation summaries, and signed SBOMs. Listed integrations include plugins and REST API connections for GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, and TeamCity. SignPath says private keys remain in FIPS-compliant hardware security modules and are never exposed or shared. Role-based controls determine who can sign which artifacts and with which certificate. Signing records include the user, file, certificate, policy, and result; reports can be exported, with optional WORM-style log archiving. Deployment options are SaaS, self-hosted, or hybrid. The free Open Source Code Signing plan has eligibility conditions: projects must be actively maintained and released, use an OSI-approved open source license, and have no proprietary components.