--- title: "garak vs fast-llm-security-guardrails" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/nvidia-garak-vs-zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails" tools: ["nvidia-garak", "zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails"] --- # garak vs fast-llm-security-guardrails *GraphCanon updated Aug 10, 2026* ## Verdict Pick garak if lLM Vulnerability Scanner; pick fast-llm-security-guardrails if fast-llm-security-guardrails, also known as ZenGuard, is designed for the rapid deployment of security measures into AI agent systems to ensure they operate within defined trust constraints. [garak](https://discord.gg/uVch4puUCs) reports 8.7k GitHub stars, 1.1k forks, and 374 open issues, last pushed Aug 4, 2026. [fast-llm-security-guardrails](https://zenguard.ai/) has 154 stars, 21 forks, and 0 open issues, last pushed Feb 3, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [garak's repository](https://github.com/NVIDIA/garak) and [fast-llm-security-guardrails's repository](https://github.com/ZenGuard-AI/fast-llm-security-guardrails). | | [garak](/tools/nvidia-garak.md) | [fast-llm-security-guardrails](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | LLM vulnerability scanner | The fastest Trust Layer for AI Agents | | Stars | 8,696 | 154 | | Forks | 1,145 | 21 | | Open issues | 374 | 0 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | LLM Vulnerability Scanner | fast-llm-security-guardrails, also known as ZenGuard, is designed for the rapid deployment of security measures into AI agent systems to ensure they operate within defined trust constraints. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Evaluation & Observability | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [garak](/tools/nvidia-garak.md) | [fast-llm-security-guardrails](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 0d | 187d | | Open issues (now) | 374 | 0 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/nvidia-garak/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Python**: [garak](/tools/nvidia-garak.md) - Python runtime; [fast-llm-security-guardrails](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails.md) - Python runtime ## Decision facts: garak - **Adopt for:** LLM Vulnerability Scanner - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 ## Decision facts: fast-llm-security-guardrails - **Adopt for:** fast-llm-security-guardrails, also known as ZenGuard, is designed for the rapid deployment of security measures into AI agent systems to ensure they operate within defined trust constraints. ## Choose when ### Choose garak if… - License: garak is Apache-2.0, fast-llm-security-guardrails is MIT. - Tags unique to garak: ai, llm-evaluation, security-scanners, vulnerability-assessment. - When needing to assess the security and reliability of language models specifically using a tool developed by NVIDIA. ### Choose fast-llm-security-guardrails if… - License: fast-llm-security-guardrails is MIT, garak is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to fast-llm-security-guardrails: agentic-ai, ai-agent, ai-agents, ai-runtime. - Also covers AI Agents. - Fast integration of privacy and security guardrails in environments where real-time evaluation and observability are critical. ## When NOT to use garak - When the targeted model is not supported by 'garak', such as some specialized API-based generators that need specific configurations beyond setting environment variables. - If real-time updates are necessary, as the PyPI version of garak might lag behind the development version available on GitHub. ## When NOT to use fast-llm-security-guardrails - If your project requires a more customizable solution than what fast-llm-security-guardrails offers in its out-of-the-box configurations. - For teams that operate without established runtime environments like LangChain or LlamaIndex, as this may necessitate significant adaptation of ZenGuard. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between garak and fast-llm-security-guardrails? garak: LLM vulnerability scanner. fast-llm-security-guardrails: The fastest Trust Layer for AI Agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose garak over fast-llm-security-guardrails? Choose garak over fast-llm-security-guardrails when License: garak is Apache-2.0, fast-llm-security-guardrails is MIT; Tags unique to garak: ai, llm-evaluation, security-scanners, vulnerability-assessment; When needing to assess the security and reliability of language models specifically using a tool developed by NVIDIA. ### When should I choose fast-llm-security-guardrails over garak? Choose fast-llm-security-guardrails over garak when License: fast-llm-security-guardrails is MIT, garak is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to fast-llm-security-guardrails: agentic-ai, ai-agent, ai-agents, ai-runtime; Also covers AI Agents; Fast integration of privacy and security guardrails in environments where real-time evaluation and observability are critical. ### When should I avoid garak? When the targeted model is not supported by 'garak', such as some specialized API-based generators that need specific configurations beyond setting environment variables. If real-time updates are necessary, as the PyPI version of garak might lag behind the development version available on GitHub. ### When should I avoid fast-llm-security-guardrails? If your project requires a more customizable solution than what fast-llm-security-guardrails offers in its out-of-the-box configurations. For teams that operate without established runtime environments like LangChain or LlamaIndex, as this may necessitate significant adaptation of ZenGuard. ### Is garak or fast-llm-security-guardrails more popular on GitHub? garak has more GitHub stars (8,696 vs 154). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are garak and fast-llm-security-guardrails open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (garak: Apache-2.0, fast-llm-security-guardrails: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to garak or fast-llm-security-guardrails? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [garak alternatives](/tools/nvidia-garak/alternatives) and [fast-llm-security-guardrails alternatives](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails/alternatives) ([garak markdown twin](/tools/nvidia-garak/alternatives.md), [fast-llm-security-guardrails markdown twin](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails/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/nvidia-garak-vs-zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, garak or fast-llm-security-guardrails? garak: Very active. fast-llm-security-guardrails: 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 garak and fast-llm-security-guardrails? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [garak trust report](/tools/nvidia-garak/trust); [fast-llm-security-guardrails trust report](/tools/zenguard-ai-fast-llm-security-guardrails/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=nvidia-garak`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=nvidia-garak) - 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/_