# PMD vs Ruff

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Ruff

| Attribute | PMD | Ruff |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 59.9 (53% (medium)) | 74 (76% (high)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 62 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 356 | 5,870 |
| adoption.github_stars | 5,473 | 49,341 |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | - | 77,677,334 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | A fast Python linter built in Rust that consolidates multiple linting tools into a single interface. It supports over 500 rules, provides automated fixes for common issues, and runs significantly faster than traditional Python linters on even very large codebases. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"autofix":true,"function":"linter","deployment":"cli_local","incremental":true,"open_source":"oss","impl_language":"Rust","pricing_model":"free","language_scope":"single_language","editor_integration":true}` |
| integrations.count | 1 | 6 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Eclipse"}]` | `[{"name":"Flake8"},{"name":"isort"},{"name":"Autoflake"},{"name":"Pyflakes"},{"name":"pycodestyle"},{"name":"Pylint"}]` |
| language.primary | Java | Rust |
| license.spdx | - | MIT |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","summary":"Free, open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://pmd.github.io/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T08:38:36.255Z"}` | - |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 28 | 7 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.27.0-SNAPSHOT","date":"2026-06-29T09:47:25Z","type":"prerelease","version":"pmd_releases/7.27.0-SNAPSHOT"},{"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"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.9.0","date":"2024-12-27T13:22:05Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pmd/pmd/releases/tag/pmd_releases/7.8.0","date":"2024-11-29T10:55:15Z","type":"stable","version":"pmd_releases/7.8.0"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.16.4","date":"2026-08-20T17:44:56Z","type":"stable","version":"0.16.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.16.3","date":"2026-08-13T15:18:05Z","type":"stable","version":"0.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.16.2","date":"2026-08-07T13:31:55Z","type":"stable","version":"0.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.16.1","date":"2026-07-30T19:37:52Z","type":"stable","version":"0.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.16.0","date":"2026-07-23T19:12:22Z","type":"stable","version":"0.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.22","date":"2026-07-16T15:15:10Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.22"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.21","date":"2026-07-09T20:02:30Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.21"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.20","date":"2026-06-25T17:21:46Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.20"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.19","date":"2026-06-24T01:11:40Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.18","date":"2026-06-18T18:26:34Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.17","date":"2026-06-11T17:57:00Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.16","date":"2026-06-04T16:34:11Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.15","date":"2026-05-28T14:18:02Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.14","date":"2026-05-21T14:35:54Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.13","date":"2026-05-14T13:45:27Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.12","date":"2026-04-24T18:18:25Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.11","date":"2026-04-16T18:47:31Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.10","date":"2026-04-09T14:07:15Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.10"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.9","date":"2026-04-02T18:18:12Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff/releases/tag/0.15.8","date":"2026-03-26T19:09:30Z","type":"stable","version":"0.15.8"}]` |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.1 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"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}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=ruff&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Code Quality Tools)

| Capability | PMD | Ruff |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Function | Static analyzer | Linter |
| Language scope | Multi-language | Single-language |
| Implementation language | Java | Rust |
| **Capability** |  |  |
| Autofix | - | ✓ |
| **Config** |  |  |
| Config model | 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T14:28:05.049Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*
