detect-secrets vs shhgit: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
detect-secrets is a free static application security testing tool. shhgit is a free static application security testing tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best static application security testing fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Developers and platform teams who need to stop secrets from reaching version control in the first place should run detect-secrets as a pre-commit hook; it catches API keys and passwords before they're ever pushed, eliminating the cleanup work that comes after. With 4,228 GitHub stars and adoption across teams that treat prevention as cheaper than remediation, the tool proves itself in practice. Skip this if your threat model assumes secrets will leak anyway and you're building for rapid detection and response; detect-secrets assumes you want to prevent the problem at source, which it does well but doesn't help you hunt for what's already committed.
DevOps teams and individual contributors who need fast, lightweight secrets scanning across multiple Git platforms should start with shhgit; it catches API keys and tokens in real-time without the operational overhead of commercial alternatives. The free, open-source model and 3,915 GitHub stars reflect actual adoption among developers who've already integrated it into CI/CD pipelines. Skip this if your organization requires centralized secret lifecycle management, audit trails, or remediation workflows; shhgit detects and alerts but leaves remediation entirely to your team.
