Modern software is rarely built in isolation. Applications often depend on hundreds of libraries, frameworks and other components, making it difficult to know exactly what is included in a software package.
These tools create detailed inventories of those components and their dependencies. This information can help identify vulnerable packages, track licences, improve supply-chain security and simplify compliance work.
They are particularly useful for developers, security teams, package maintainers and organisations that need a clear picture of the software they build, distribute or deploy.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each application.
| Software Bills of Materials | |
|---|---|
| Syft | Catalog packages and dependencies in images and filesystems |
| ScanCode Toolkit | Detect licences, copyrights and package metadata in source code |
| ORT | Automate dependency analysis, licence compliance and policy checks |
| SBOM Tool | Create SPDX-compatible component inventories at scale |
| Trivy | Scan containers and filesystems for vulnerabilities and licence issues |
| bom | Create, inspect, transform and validate SPDX manifests |
| CycloneDX CLI | Analyse, merge, convert, sign and validate CycloneDX documents |
| sbomnix | Analyse Nix packages for dependencies, licences and vulnerabilities |
 Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category.The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form. |
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