Last updated: 10/9/2026Last verified: 2026-10-09
What is OSS Scanner?
OSS Scanner is an Anthropic service for eligible open-source projects that provides free, periodic AI vulnerability scans. It is designed to help verified maintainers receive model-generated security findings by email, including reproducers and candidate patches when available. Enrollment is handled through a GitHub pull request that includes project configuration and a Dockerfile.
Key Features
- Free periodic security scans for eligible critical open-source repositories
- Model-generated vulnerability reports delivered to verified maintainers
- Self-contained reproducers included with reports when available
- Candidate patches provided when available
- Maintainer enrollment through a GitHub pull request
- Project configuration and Dockerfile-based setup
- Email report delivery with optional OpenPGP encryption
- Maintainer-controlled pause or opt-out options
Best For
Pricing
OSS Scanner is described as free for eligible open-source projects. Access appears to depend on eligibility and maintainer enrollment rather than a public paid plan.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free for eligible open-source projects
- Designed specifically for critical open-source repositories
- Reports may include reproducers that help maintainers validate findings
- Candidate patches may reduce the time required to investigate fixes
- Optional OpenPGP encryption supports more private report delivery
- Maintainers can pause or opt out of scanning
Cons
- Availability is limited to eligible open-source projects
- Findings are model-generated and may require maintainer verification
- Candidate patches are only provided when available
- Enrollment requires a GitHub pull request and project setup work
- Not positioned as a general-purpose commercial code scanning platform
Alternatives
Provides AI-assisted security remediation suggestions within GitHub code scanning workflows.
Offers developer-focused vulnerability scanning and remediation guidance for open-source dependencies, containers, and code.
A semantic code analysis engine commonly used for finding vulnerabilities in open-source and private repositories.
Provides static analysis for security and code quality, with rules that can be used across many programming languages.
Analyzes code for bugs, vulnerabilities, and maintainability issues across development workflows.
FAQ
Details
Platform
Features
- Free periodic security scans for eligible critical open-source repositories
- Model-generated vulnerability reports with self-contained reproducers and candidate patches when available
- Maintainer enrollment through a GitHub pull request with project configuration and a Dockerfile
- Email delivery, optional OpenPGP encryption, and maintainer-controlled pause or opt-out
Languages
Known limitations
- Enrollment is limited to established open-source projects with a critical infrastructure or user-security impact; Anthropic reviews eligibility and verifies core maintainers
- Reports are fully model-generated without human review and can contain incorrect findings or inflated severity ratings
- Maintainers must supply project configuration and a Dockerfile that builds the project and installs dependencies before an offline audit
- Scan frequency varies with pipeline load and other factors; reports are delivered by email rather than an on-demand IDE workflow







