AgentIndex icon
AgentIndex
heddle logo
heddle
★ 14
vs
shellgate logo
shellgate
★ 15

heddle vs shellgate

heddle: Heddle provides a policy-and-trust layer for Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool servers, enabling secure and declarative exposure of APIs as AI agent tools. It offers built-in security features such as trust enforcement, credential brokering, and tamper-evident audit logging, alongside containerized sandboxing and AI-powered configuration generation.; shellgate: Shellgate acts as a secure gateway between AI agents and your infrastructure, ensuring agents never directly access sensitive credentials like API keys or SSH keys. It enforces granular access control, logs every request, and intercepts dangerous commands for human approval, significantly enhancing the security and audibility of AI agent operations.

01

TL;DR

heddle logo
heddleSecurity & Safety · ★ 14

Securely Exposing APIs to LLMs

Read heddle full review →
shellgate logo
shellgateSecurity & Safety · ★ 15

Securely connecting AI agents to external APIs without exposing real credentials.

Read shellgate full review →
02

Side-by-Side Comparison

Field
heddle logoheddle
shellgate logoshellgate
Category
Security & Safety
Security & Safety
Stars
★ 14
★ 15
License
MIT
MIT
Install Command
git clone https://github.com/goweft/heddle.git && cd heddle && python -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate && pip install -e ".[dev]"
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -e DATABASE_URL=postgres://user:pass@host:5432/shellgate -e SESSION_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32) ghcr.io/matthiastjong/shellgate:latest
Updated
1mo ago
4mo ago
Open Source
Yes
Yes
Website
↗ Visit
↗ Visit
GitHub
↗ GitHub
↗ GitHub
Tags
AI Agent Security, Policy Enforcement, Declarative Configuration
AI Agent Security, API Gateway, Credential Management
03

Features

heddle logoheddle
01Declarative YAML Tool Configuration
02Comprehensive Security Controls
03AI-Powered Configuration Generation
04Containerized Sandboxing
shellgate logoshellgate
01Gateway Proxy for API/SSH with credential injection.
02Scoped and revocable token management for agents.
03Human-in-the-loop guard for dangerous commands/APIs.
04Comprehensive audit logging of all agent activities.
05MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for seamless agent integration.
04

Use Cases

heddle logoheddle
↳Securely Exposing APIs to LLMs
↳Building AI Agent Tool Meshes
↳Automating Daily Operations with AI
↳Managing GPU Resources for LLMs
shellgate logoshellgate
↳Securely connecting AI agents to external APIs without exposing real credentials.
↳Allowing agents to execute commands on remote SSH servers with approval and auditing.
↳Protecting against prompt injection by intercepting dangerous agent commands.
↳Centralized management and revocation of AI agent access permissions.
↳Providing persistent memory and a knowledge base for AI agents.
FAQ

FAQ

What is the difference between heddle and shellgate?
Both heddle and shellgate are in the Security & Safety category. heddle has 14 stars, while shellgate has 15 stars.
Which is better, heddle or shellgate?
The best choice depends on your use case. Choose heddle if Securely Exposing APIs to LLMs, and shellgate if Securely connecting AI agents to external APIs without exposing real credentials..
Is heddle free or open source?
Yes, heddle is open source on GitHub (MIT).
Is shellgate free or open source?
Yes, shellgate is open source on GitHub (MIT).
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Alternatives to heddle →Alternatives to shellgate →heddle details →shellgate details →