# Black vs PMD

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Black

| Attribute | Black | PMD |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 73.9 (77% (high)) | 55.6 (49% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 75 | 64 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 105,588 | 356 |
| adoption.github_stars | 41,918 | 5,508 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 27,633,532 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"An opinionated Python code formatter that automatically reformats code according to a standardized style. It produces minimal diffs for cleaner code review and reduces developer cognitive load by removing formatting decisions, allowing focus on code logic. It is indexed under Code Quality Tools.","source":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","question":"What is Black?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Black is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","question":"Is Black free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Black supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","question":"What platforms does Black support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Black can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","question":"Can Black be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 8 integrations for Black, including Neovim, conform.nvim, ALE, SublimeText, Pre-commit, Jupyter Notebooks, blacken-docs and blackdoc. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","question":"What does Black integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Black is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/psf/black","question":"Is Black open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"PMD is a multilingual static code analyzer that detects common programming issues like unused variables and inefficient patterns. It includes over 400 built-in rules, supports 16+ languages with primary focus on Java, and supports custom rules via Java or XPath. It is indexed under Code Quality Tools.","source":"https://pmd.github.io/","question":"What is PMD?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PMD offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pmd.github.io/","question":"Is PMD free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PMD supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://pmd.github.io/","question":"What platforms does PMD support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. PMD can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://pmd.github.io/","question":"Can PMD be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A Python code formatter that automatically reformats entire files to enforce consistent styling. It produces minimal diffs to accelerate code review and ensures uniform appearance across projects. | PMD is a static analysis tool that scans source code to detect bugs, code smells, and quality issues across many programming languages. It includes copy-paste detection capabilities and supports custom rule creation. |
| features.capabilities | `{"autofix":true,"metrics":false,"function":"formatter","ci_gating":true,"deployment":"both","incremental":false,"open_source":"oss","config_model":"zero_config","custom_rules":false,"impl_language":"Python","pricing_model":"free","language_scope":"single_language","editor_integration":true}` | `{"metrics":true,"function":"static_analyzer","ci_gating":true,"deployment":"cli_local","open_source":"oss","config_model":"rule_packs","custom_rules":true,"impl_language":"Java","pricing_model":"free","language_scope":"multi_language","editor_integration":true}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | 4 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Neovim"},{"name":"conform.nvim"},{"name":"ALE"},{"name":"SublimeText"},{"name":"Pre-commit"},{"name":"Jupyter Notebooks"},{"name":"blacken-docs"},{"name":"blackdoc"},{"name":"Vim","native":true},{"name":"Visual Studio Code","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"GitHub Actions","native":true,"category":"ci","direction":"inbound"}]` | `[{"name":"Eclipse"},{"name":"Gradle PMD Plugin","native":true},{"name":"eclipse-pmd","native":true},{"name":"pmd-eclipse-plugin","native":true},{"name":"PMD X","native":true},{"name":"PMD","native":true},{"name":"Apex PMD","native":true},{"name":"PMD for Java","native":true},{"name":"Gradle","native":true,"category":"build_system"},{"name":"IntelliJ","native":false,"category":"editor"},{"name":"VS Code","native":false,"category":"editor"}]` |
| language.primary | Python | Java |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | - | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://black.readthedocs.io/en/stable/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T09:28:09.046Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://pmd.github.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-14T13:23:26.960Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 31 | 28 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.10.1","date":"2026-10-10T04:11:33Z","type":"stable","version":"26.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.10.0","date":"2026-10-04T16:50:23Z","type":"stable","version":"26.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.5.1","date":"2026-05-18T16:52:38Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.5.0","date":"2026-05-16T17:56:23Z","type":"stable","version":"26.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.3.1","date":"2026-03-12T03:35:15Z","type":"stable","version":"26.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.3.0","date":"2026-03-06T17:41:48Z","type":"stable","version":"26.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.1.0","date":"2026-01-18T04:49:25Z","type":"stable","version":"26.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/26.1a1","date":"2025-12-08T01:46:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"26.1a1"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/25.12.0","date":"2025-12-08T01:40:32Z","type":"stable","version":"25.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/25.11.0","date":"2025-11-10T01:53:31Z","type":"stable","version":"25.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/25.9.0","date":"2025-09-19T00:27:15Z","type":"stable","version":"25.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/25.1.0","date":"2025-01-29T04:15:11Z","type":"stable","version":"25.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.10.0","date":"2024-10-07T19:20:06Z","type":"stable","version":"24.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.8.0","date":"2024-08-02T17:42:53Z","type":"stable","version":"24.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.4.2","date":"2024-04-26T00:31:27Z","type":"stable","version":"24.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.4.1","date":"2024-04-24T15:17:30Z","type":"stable","version":"24.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.4.0","date":"2024-04-12T20:13:48Z","type":"stable","version":"24.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.3.0","date":"2024-03-15T19:35:14Z","type":"stable","version":"24.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.2.0","date":"2024-02-12T20:20:40Z","type":"stable","version":"24.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/psf/black/releases/tag/24.1.1","date":"2024-01-28T05:28:09Z","type":"stable","version":"24.1.1"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.29.0-SNAPSHOT","date":"2026-09-25T09:32:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"pmd_releases/7.29.0-SNAPSHOT"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.28.0","date":"2026-09-25T09:00:39Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.28.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.27.0","date":"2026-08-28T12:41:56Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.27.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.26.0","date":"2026-06-29T09:27:48Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.26.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.25.0","date":"2026-05-29T07:31:55Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.25.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.24.0","date":"2026-04-24T10:32:31Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.24.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.23.0","date":"2026-03-27T11:16:41Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.23.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.22.0","date":"2026-02-27T12:03:19Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.22.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.21.0","date":"2026-01-30T09:52:21Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.21.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.20.0","date":"2025-12-30T15:44:30Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.20.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.19.0","date":"2025-11-28T11:36:32Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.18.0","date":"2025-10-31T08:59:05Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.17.0","date":"2025-09-12T08:10:30Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.16.0","date":"2025-07-25T07:00:32Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.15.0","date":"2025-06-27T12:45:08Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.14.0","date":"2025-05-30T18:45:09Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.13.0","date":"2025-04-25T08:32:19Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.12.0","date":"2025-03-28T08:27:08Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.11.0","date":"2025-02-28T11:24:10Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.10.0","date":"2025-01-31T10:26:11Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.10.0"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 7.5 | 6.2 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":2,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=black&per_page=100","last_12m":1,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=net.sourceforge.pmd%3Apmd-java&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Code Quality Tools)

| Capability | Black | PMD |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Function | Formatter | Static analyzer |
| Language scope | Single-language | Multi-language |
| Implementation language | Python | Java |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Autofix | ✓ | - |
| **Config** |  |  |
| Config model | Zero-config | Rule packs |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Custom rules | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Both | CLI-local |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Editor integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| CI / VCS gating | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Code metrics | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Performance** |  |  |
| Incremental / monorepo aware | ✗ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source | OSS | OSS |
| **Commercial** |  |  |
| Pricing model | Free | Free |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T21:40:50.315Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*