Brakeman
Vulnerability scanner software
DevSecOps software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
- Market presence
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What is Brakeman
Brakeman is a static application security testing (SAST) tool that scans Ruby on Rails applications to identify security vulnerabilities and insecure coding patterns. It is typically used by developers and security teams to catch issues during development and in CI pipelines. Brakeman focuses on Rails-specific analysis without requiring the application to run, and it outputs findings with file/line references to support remediation.
Rails-specific SAST coverage
Brakeman is purpose-built for Ruby on Rails and includes checks tailored to common Rails patterns and framework behaviors. This specialization helps it detect issues that generic scanners may miss in Rails codebases. It reports findings with code locations and contextual details to support developer triage.
CI-friendly and automatable
Brakeman runs from the command line and is commonly integrated into CI workflows to gate builds or generate security reports. It can be executed without deploying or running the application, which fits early SDLC scanning. This makes it practical for DevSecOps teams that want repeatable, pipeline-based checks.
No runtime instrumentation required
Because it performs static analysis, Brakeman does not require agents, runtime hooks, or traffic generation to find issues. Teams can scan source code in isolated build environments and on developer machines. This reduces operational dependencies compared with approaches that rely on runtime visibility.
Limited to Rails ecosystems
Brakeman primarily targets Ruby on Rails applications and is not a general-purpose scanner for multiple languages and frameworks. Organizations with polyglot stacks typically need additional tools to cover other codebases. This can increase tooling fragmentation across teams.
SAST false positives and tuning
Like many static analyzers, Brakeman can produce findings that require manual review to confirm exploitability in context. Teams may need to tune ignore lists or configuration to reduce noise for large or legacy applications. Without a triage process, results can be deprioritized or overlooked.
Not a full AppSec platform
Brakeman focuses on code scanning and does not provide broader capabilities such as bug bounty workflows, cloud posture management, or end-to-end DevSecOps orchestration. Reporting and governance features are more limited than platform-style offerings. Many organizations pair it with additional tools for dependency, container, or cloud security coverage.
Plan & Pricing
Brakeman is distributed as a free, open-source scanner; no paid plans are listed on the official website. Brakeman Pro has been acquired by Synopsys and is no longer available for purchase.
