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Gitleaks vs detect-secrets: catalog facts
Gitleaks	detect-secrets
Best for: Scans Git repositories, files and pipelines for leaked secrets	Best for: Development teams that want to keep credentials out of their Git repositories
Free The software is free under its open-source licence. Hosting, hardware and external services are separate.	Free Free and open source.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
It checks full commit history rather than just the working tree, and runs as a pre-commit hook or… Full strengths for Gitleaks It checks full commit history rather than just the working tree, and runs as a pre-commit hook or a CI step with configurable rules.	Baseline file separates known findings from new ones Works as a pre-commit hook to stop leaks before they land All 3 strengths for detect-secrets Baseline file separates known findings from new ones Works as a pre-commit hook to stop leaks before they land Runs locally with no service to sign up for
The author has declared it feature complete with security patches only, and regex detection produces both false… Full limitations for Gitleaks The author has declared it feature complete with security patches only, and regex detection produces both false positives and misses.	Pattern-based detection can produce false positives Command-line only, no graphical interface
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License: Apache-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Gitleaks github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks Catalog checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for detect-secrets github.com/Yelp/detect-secrets Catalog checked September 24, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.