# Black vs pre-commit

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Black

| Attribute | Black | pre-commit |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 73.9 (77% (high)) | 66.1 (70% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 75 | 16 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 105,588 | 35,684 |
| adoption.github_stars | 41,918 | 15,626 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 27,633,532 | 33,971,661 |
| 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":"A framework that automates the execution of code quality checks as git pre-commit hooks, eliminating the need for developers to manually install language-specific dependencies on their machines to run linters and formatters written in any programming language. It is indexed under Code Quality Tools.","source":"https://pre-commit.com","question":"What is pre-commit?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"pre-commit offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://pre-commit.com","question":"Is pre-commit free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"pre-commit supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://pre-commit.com","question":"What platforms does pre-commit support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. pre-commit can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://pre-commit.com","question":"Can pre-commit be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. pre-commit 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/pre-commit/pre-commit","question":"Is pre-commit open source?","confidence":0.99}]` |
| 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. | Manages Git pre-commit hooks written in various languages, automatically running code checks to detect issues like missing semicolons, trailing whitespace, and debug statements before code review. |
| 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}` | `{"autofix":false,"metrics":false,"function":"meta_runner","ci_gating":true,"deployment":"cli_local","incremental":false,"open_source":"oss","config_model":"config_file","custom_rules":true,"impl_language":"Python","pricing_model":"free","language_scope":"multi_language","editor_integration":false}` |
| integrations.count | 5 | - |
| 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"}]` | - |
| language.primary | Python | Python |
| license.spdx | MIT | MIT |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":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":"free","sourceUrl":"https://pre-commit.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T09:20:48.398Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | free | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 31 | 57 |
| 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/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.6.2","date":"2026-08-10T22:08:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.6.1","date":"2026-07-21T20:58:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.6.0","date":"2026-04-21T20:32:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.5.1","date":"2025-12-16T21:18:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.5.0","date":"2025-11-22T21:08:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.4.0","date":"2025-11-08T21:48:28Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.3.0","date":"2025-08-09T18:59:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.3.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.2.0","date":"2025-03-18T21:42:20Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.2.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.1.0","date":"2025-01-20T18:49:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.0.1","date":"2024-10-08T16:10:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v4.0.0","date":"2024-10-05T19:19:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.8.0","date":"2024-07-28T20:05:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.7.1","date":"2024-05-11T01:31:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.7.0","date":"2024-03-24T17:41:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.6.2","date":"2024-02-18T18:22:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.6.1","date":"2024-02-10T19:47:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.6.0","date":"2023-12-09T21:29:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.5.0","date":"2023-10-13T16:06:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.4.0","date":"2023-09-02T17:13:27Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit/releases/tag/v3.3.3","date":"2023-06-13T23:12:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.3.3"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 7.5 | 4.7 |
| 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=pypi&package_name=pre-commit&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Code Quality Tools)

| Capability | Black | pre-commit |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Function | Formatter | Meta-runner |
| Language scope | Single-language | Multi-language |
| Implementation language | Python | Python |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Autofix | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Config** |  |  |
| Config model | Zero-config | Config file |
| **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 2026-10-16T20:03:56.639Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*