# RuboCop vs SpotBugs

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** RuboCop

| Attribute | RuboCop | SpotBugs |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 63.9 (50% (medium)) | 54.9 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 72 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 115,529 | 2,768 |
| adoption.github_stars | 12,913 | 3,954 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"RuboCop is an open-source Ruby linter and formatter that enforces code style based on the Ruby community style guide. It detects code quality issues and can automatically fix many of them, with extensive configuration options and extensibility through community plugins. It is indexed under Code Quality Tools.","source":"https://rubocop.org/","question":"What is RuboCop?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"RuboCop 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://rubocop.org/","question":"Is RuboCop free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"RuboCop supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://rubocop.org/","question":"What platforms does RuboCop support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 13 integrations for RuboCop, including rubocop-performance, rubocop-rails, rubocop-rspec, rubocop-minitest, rubocop-rake, rubocop-sequel, rubocop-thread_safety and rubocop-capybara, plus 5 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://rubocop.org/","question":"What does RuboCop integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. RuboCop 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/rubocop/rubocop","question":"Is RuboCop open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"An open-source utility that examines Java source code to identify potential programming issues without executing it. It integrates with build tools and IDEs through plugins and supports community-contributed or custom analysis rules. It is indexed under Code Quality Tools.","source":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","question":"What is SpotBugs?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"SpotBugs is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the LGPL-2.1 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","question":"Is SpotBugs free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"SpotBugs supports a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","question":"What platforms does SpotBugs support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. SpotBugs can be deployed on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","question":"Can SpotBugs be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 6 integrations for SpotBugs, including Maven, Gradle, Eclipse, Ant, fb-contrib and find-sec-bugs. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","question":"What does SpotBugs integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. SpotBugs is published under the LGPL-2.1 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs","question":"Is SpotBugs open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source linter and formatter for Ruby that enforces the community style guide, identifies potential bugs, and can automatically correct many issues. | SpotBugs performs static analysis on Java code to identify potential bugs and code quality issues. |
| features.capabilities | `{"autofix":true,"metrics":true,"function":"linter_formatter","ci_gating":true,"deployment":"cli_local","open_source":"oss","config_model":"config_file","custom_rules":true,"impl_language":"Ruby","pricing_model":"free","language_scope":"single_language","editor_integration":true}` | `{"autofix":false,"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":"single_language","editor_integration":true}` |
| integrations.count | 14 | 3 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"rubocop-performance"},{"name":"rubocop-rails"},{"name":"rubocop-rspec"},{"name":"rubocop-minitest"},{"name":"rubocop-rake"},{"name":"rubocop-sequel"},{"name":"rubocop-thread_safety"},{"name":"rubocop-capybara"},{"name":"rubocop-factory_bot"},{"name":"rubocop-rspec_rails"},{"name":"rubocop-i18n"},{"name":"Eglot"},{"name":"Helix"},{"name":"Flycheck"},{"name":"VS Code","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"RubyMine","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Emacs","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Neovim","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Zed","native":true,"category":"editor","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | `[{"name":"Maven"},{"name":"Gradle"},{"name":"Eclipse"},{"name":"Ant"},{"name":"fb-contrib"},{"name":"find-sec-bugs"},{"name":"VS Code","native":true}]` |
| language.primary | Ruby | Java |
| license.spdx | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true}` | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://rubocop.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:31:22.550Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://spotbugs.github.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:33:37.010Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 16 | 27 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.92.0","date":"2026-10-10T09:34:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.92.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.91.0","date":"2026-09-10T13:55:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.91.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.90.0","date":"2026-08-24T11:40:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.90.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.89.0","date":"2026-08-04T09:00:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.89.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.88.2","date":"2026-07-08T06:22:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.88.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.88.1","date":"2026-07-01T09:52:01Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.88.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.88.0","date":"2026-06-16T05:10:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.88.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.87.0","date":"2026-05-30T08:52:19Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.87.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.86.2","date":"2026-05-14T05:26:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.86.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.86.1","date":"2026-04-09T06:12:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.86.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.86.0","date":"2026-03-23T10:39:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.86.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.85.1","date":"2026-03-05T10:22:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.85.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.85.0","date":"2026-02-26T09:50:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.85.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.84.2","date":"2026-02-12T07:25:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.84.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.84.1","date":"2026-02-03T01:55:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.84.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.84.0","date":"2026-01-27T09:57:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.84.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.82.1","date":"2025-12-24T08:47:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.82.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.82.0","date":"2025-12-17T10:25:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.82.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.81.7","date":"2025-10-31T09:01:14Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.81.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/rubocop/rubocop/releases/tag/v1.81.6","date":"2025-10-21T07:34:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.81.6"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.5","date":"2026-10-12T03:43:33Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.4","date":"2026-08-20T03:22:34Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.3","date":"2026-07-12T23:54:13Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.2","date":"2026-06-09T20:24:17Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.1","date":"2026-06-08T13:19:51Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.10.0","date":"2026-06-08T01:28:41Z","type":"stable","version":"4.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.8","date":"2025-10-18T16:45:29Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.7","date":"2025-10-14T22:32:35Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.6","date":"2025-09-17T02:07:29Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.5","date":"2025-09-15T01:58:47Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.4","date":"2025-08-10T00:26:10Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.3","date":"2025-03-15T19:18:36Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.2","date":"2025-03-01T20:12:52Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.1","date":"2025-02-05T16:59:04Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.9.0","date":"2025-01-16T05:16:00Z","type":"stable","version":"4.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.8.6","date":"2024-06-18T02:46:58Z","type":"stable","version":"4.8.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.8.5","date":"2024-05-03T23:22:14Z","type":"stable","version":"4.8.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.8.4","date":"2024-04-23T13:33:59Z","type":"stable","version":"4.8.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.8.3","date":"2023-12-12T10:47:36Z","type":"stable","version":"4.8.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/spotbugs/spotbugs/releases/tag/4.8.2","date":"2023-11-29T04:06:02Z","type":"stable","version":"4.8.2"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":1,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=rubygems&package_name=rubocop&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":"LOW"}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=maven&package_name=com.github.spotbugs%3Aspotbugs-annotations&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Code Quality Tools)

| Capability | RuboCop | SpotBugs |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Function | Linter + formatter | Static analyzer |
| Language scope | Single-language | Single-language |
| Implementation language | Ruby | Java |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Autofix | ✓ | ✗ |
| **Config** |  |  |
| Config model | Config file | Rule packs |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Custom rules | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | CLI-local | 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 2026-10-16T19:03:11.334Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*