# Candler vs OWASP Dependency-Track

Source: https://candler.app/compare/dependency-track

OWASP Dependency-Track analyzes software component inventories supplied through software bills of materials. Candler V1 starts with supplied WordPress plugin versions and two supported GitHub root-lockfile formats. Dependency-Track is a stronger fit when broad component inventory analysis is the main requirement.

Editorial comparison by Candler. Based on vendor documentation, not a hands-on benchmark. Last reviewed: 2026-10-29. Plans and vendor access may change.

| Topic | Candler | OWASP Dependency-Track |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Inventory inputs | WordPress plugin versions and root composer.lock or package-lock.json files. | CycloneDX software bills of materials covering broader component types. |
| Main workflow | Team findings, coverage gaps, review history, and notifications. | Component inventory analysis and security, license, and policy workflows. |
| SBOM imports | Not part of V1. | A core platform input. |
| Connection today | No Dependency-Track connector in V1. | An existing deployment can expose its documented integration API. |

## Choose Dependency-Track for a broader component portfolio

Dependency-Track is built around software bills of materials, often called SBOMs: structured lists of what software contains. Its published scope includes vulnerability analysis, license risk, policy checks, and ongoing portfolio monitoring.

If you already produce CycloneDX inventories for many projects, evaluate that native workflow first. Candler V1 does not offer equivalent SBOM ingestion or policy enforcement.


## Choose Candler for its specific starting inputs

Candler is focused on teams managing WordPress plugin inventories and selected PHP or JavaScript GitHub projects. It imports supported root lockfiles and gives those components a common findings and review history.

This narrower coverage has limits. It does not imply that containers, operating systems, firmware, every package ecosystem, or every build artifact have been checked. Unsupported or missing inputs must remain visible.


## What a connection could look like

A proposed V2 connector would read selected projects from an existing Dependency-Track installation. Its documented integration interface uses generated keys. It would not require replacing the customer’s current inventory producer.

Before implementation, Candler would need to verify the deployed API version, component identities, project boundaries, permissions, and safe connection to the host. No live connector or automatic project migration is available in V1.


## Decide where decisions belong

When two tools track the same report, their states can mean different things. The first connector would be read-only: source findings remain evidence, while Candler review decisions stay local. Writing decisions back to another system is outside the initial V2 scope.


## Sources

- [Dependency-Track: platform and inventory scope](https://dependencytrack.org/)
- [Dependency-Track: REST integration](https://docs.dependencytrack.org/integrations/rest-api/)

## More about Candler

- [How Candler works](https://candler.app/how-it-works)
- [Security and coverage](https://candler.app/security)
- [Roadmap](https://candler.app/roadmap)
- [Data sources and licenses](https://candler.app/data-sources)