--- title: "gate22 vs invariant-gateway" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/aipotheosis-labs-gate22-vs-invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway" tools: ["aipotheosis-labs-gate22", "invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway"] --- # gate22 vs invariant-gateway *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick gate22 if gate22 is an open-source MCP gateway and control plane for governing AI agents' tool usage and actions with comprehensive auditability; pick invariant-gateway if the invariant-gateway is an observability proxy crafted for Python-based AI agents running under LLMs, offering robust debugging and guardrail implementations. [gate22](https://gateway.aci.dev) reports 178 GitHub stars, 24 forks, and 23 open issues, last pushed Dec 12, 2025. [invariant-gateway](https://github.com/invariantlabs-ai/invariant-gateway) has 80 stars, 9 forks, and 1 open issues, last pushed Nov 6, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [gate22's repository](https://github.com/aipotheosis-labs/gate22) and [invariant-gateway's repository](https://github.com/invariantlabs-ai/invariant-gateway). | | [gate22](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22.md) | [invariant-gateway](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | MCP gateway and control plane for agent governance | LLM proxy for observing and debugging AI agent activities | | Stars | 178 | 80 | | Forks | 24 | 9 | | Open issues | 23 | 1 | | Language | TypeScript | Python | | Adopt for | Gate22 is an open-source MCP gateway and control plane for governing AI agents' tool usage and actions with comprehensive auditability. | The invariant-gateway is an observability proxy crafted for Python-based AI agents running under LLMs, offering robust debugging and guardrail implementations. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [gate22](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22.md) | [invariant-gateway](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 274d | 310d | | Open issues (now) | 23 | 1 | | Stars delta | +3 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: gate22 - **Adopt for:** Gate22 is an open-source MCP gateway and control plane for governing AI agents' tool usage and actions with comprehensive auditability. ## Decision facts: invariant-gateway - **Adopt for:** The invariant-gateway is an observability proxy crafted for Python-based AI agents running under LLMs, offering robust debugging and guardrail implementations. ## Choose when ### Choose gate22 if… - gate22 is primarily TypeScript; invariant-gateway is Python. - Tags unique to gate22: agents, control-plane, gateway, mcp. - When you need to standardize governance over the tools and actions across various AI environments such as agentic IDEs. ### Choose invariant-gateway if… - invariant-gateway is primarily Python; gate22 is TypeScript. - Tags unique to invariant-gateway: debugging, observability, proxy. - If you are working on Python-based projects and need detailed monitoring of AI agent activities to enhance security or compliance; ## When NOT to use gate22 - For scenarios where a closed-source solution is preferred due to specific confidentiality or proprietary concerns. - If the organization's tech stack does not align well with TypeScript, which Gate22 employs for its development. ## When NOT to use invariant-gateway - In scenarios where the programming language used is not Python, given that invariant-gateway is specifically designed for Python-based applications; - For organizations that do not require sophisticated guardrails or observability features when dealing with their AI agents' operations; ## Common questions ### What is the difference between gate22 and invariant-gateway? gate22: MCP gateway and control plane for agent governance. invariant-gateway: LLM proxy for observing and debugging AI agent activities. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose gate22 over invariant-gateway? Choose gate22 over invariant-gateway when gate22 is primarily TypeScript; invariant-gateway is Python; Tags unique to gate22: agents, control-plane, gateway, mcp; When you need to standardize governance over the tools and actions across various AI environments such as agentic IDEs. ### When should I choose invariant-gateway over gate22? Choose invariant-gateway over gate22 when invariant-gateway is primarily Python; gate22 is TypeScript; Tags unique to invariant-gateway: debugging, observability, proxy; If you are working on Python-based projects and need detailed monitoring of AI agent activities to enhance security or compliance;. ### When should I avoid gate22? For scenarios where a closed-source solution is preferred due to specific confidentiality or proprietary concerns. If the organization's tech stack does not align well with TypeScript, which Gate22 employs for its development. ### When should I avoid invariant-gateway? In scenarios where the programming language used is not Python, given that invariant-gateway is specifically designed for Python-based applications; For organizations that do not require sophisticated guardrails or observability features when dealing with their AI agents' operations; ### Is gate22 or invariant-gateway more popular on GitHub? gate22 has more GitHub stars (178 vs 80). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are gate22 and invariant-gateway open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (gate22: Apache-2.0, invariant-gateway: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to gate22 or invariant-gateway? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [gate22 alternatives](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22/alternatives) and [invariant-gateway alternatives](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway/alternatives) ([gate22 markdown twin](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22/alternatives.md), [invariant-gateway markdown twin](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/aipotheosis-labs-gate22-vs-invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, gate22 or invariant-gateway? gate22: Slowing. invariant-gateway: Slowing. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for gate22 and invariant-gateway? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [gate22 trust report](/tools/aipotheosis-labs-gate22/trust); [invariant-gateway trust report](/tools/invariantlabs-ai-invariant-gateway/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=aipotheosis-labs-gate22`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=aipotheosis-labs-gate22) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_