AgentIndex icon
AgentIndex
assay logo
assay
★ 13
vs
toolhive logo
toolhive
★ 2.3k

assay vs toolhive

assay: Assay provides an open, recomputable evidence profile for privileged AI agent tool actions, enforcing policies deterministically and fail-closed. It records decisions, observations, and unproven claims into tamper-evident bundles for offline verification and security auditing.; toolhive: ToolHive simplifies and secures the deployment of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, offering a comprehensive solution for managing AI toolchains in production. It provides a modular architecture with a Gateway, Registry Server, Runtime, and Portal for instant, secure, and scalable operations across various environments.

01

TL;DR

assay logo
assaySecurity & Safety · ★ 13

Generating small, reviewable CI artifacts for bounded auditability from existing evaluation outputs, runtime decisions, or MCP tool-call tests.

Read assay full review →
toolhive logo
toolhiveSecurity & Safety · ★ 2.3k
When to choose:
  • You want MCP servers to run in isolated containers with scoped permissions and managed secrets, on Docker, Podman or Kubernetes.
  • You want the same tooling from a laptop (desktop app or CLI) to a Kubernetes Operator.
  • Your team needs a registry with provenance verification, an SSO-capable gateway and audit logging.
When to skip:
  • You just want to run one MCP server: it needs Docker, Podman or Kubernetes and is heavier than starting the server directly.
  • You want a single component: the Runtime, Registry, Gateway and Portal take time to understand, and parts live in separate repositories.
  • You expect container isolation to replace reviewing what each server can reach.
Read toolhive full review →
02

Side-by-Side Comparison

Field
assay logoassay
toolhive logotoolhive
Category
Security & Safety
Security & Safety
Stars
★ 13
★ 2.3k
License
MIT
Apache-2.0
Install Command
curl -fsSL https://getassay.dev/install.sh | sh
git clone https://github.com/stacklok/toolhive.git
Updated
1d ago
1d ago
Open Source
Yes
Yes
Website
↗ Visit
↗ Visit
GitHub
↗ GitHub
↗ GitHub
Tags
AI Agent Security, Tool Call Enforcement, Evidence Auditing
Model Context Protocol, Server Management, Security
03

Features

assay logoassay
01Deterministic, fail-closed policy enforcement for tool calls, including optional kernel-level enforcement on Linux.
02Generates offline-verifiable, tamper-evident evidence bundles for audit and replay, integrated with CI without a hosted backend.
03Classifies claims by their trust basis (verified, self_reported, inferred, absent) to ensure honesty and prevent claims from exceeding observed facts.
04Policy gate (`assay mcp wrap`) for pre-execution allow/deny decisions on privileged tool calls, with clear reasons.
05Integrates with CI/CD pipelines via GitHub Actions and SARIF, enabling policy gates on pull requests and security-tab integration.
toolhive logotoolhive
01Instant deployment with one click or command using Docker or Kubernetes.
02Secure by default, running servers in isolated containers with managed secrets.
03Works everywhere, available as a desktop app, web app, CLI, and Kubernetes Operator.
04Seamless integration with popular AI clients like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and VS Code.
05Modular architecture comprising Gateway, Registry Server, Runtime, and Portal for comprehensive management.
04

Use Cases

assay logoassay
↳Generating small, reviewable CI artifacts for bounded auditability from existing evaluation outputs, runtime decisions, or MCP tool-call tests.
↳Processing Promptfoo JSONL output from CI evaluations to produce evidence receipts and verified bundles.
↳Auditing and enforcing policies on MCP (Multi-Modal Command Protocol) tool calls, providing an allow/deny audit trail and observed-behavior evidence.
↳Implementing GitHub PR gates based on Trust Basis diffs and policy status, with SARIF/JUnit-ready output.
↳Generating inventory receipts and verified bundles from CycloneDX ML-BOM model components for model inventory and provenance.
toolhive logotoolhive
↳Individual developers quickly deploying and testing MCP servers locally using the desktop UI or CLI.
↳Organizations centrally managing and orchestrating a fleet of MCP servers in Kubernetes for production and scale.
↳Enterprises building hybrid solutions, integrating MCP servers into custom internal tools and agentic workflows with unified access controls.
05

Best For

assay logoassay
—
toolhive logotoolhive
EssentialTrending
FAQ

FAQ

What is the difference between assay and toolhive?
Both assay and toolhive are in the Security & Safety category. assay has 13 stars, while toolhive has 2.3k stars.
Which is better, assay or toolhive?
The best choice depends on your use case. Choose assay if Generating small, reviewable CI artifacts for bounded auditability from existing evaluation outputs, runtime decisions, or MCP tool-call tests., and toolhive if Individual developers quickly deploying and testing MCP servers locally using the desktop UI or CLI..
Is assay free or open source?
Yes, assay is open source on GitHub (MIT).
Is toolhive free or open source?
Yes, toolhive is open source on GitHub (Apache-2.0).
Cloud Infrastructure
Ad

Deploy on DigitalOcean

Host your MCP servers, Docker containers, and AI agents with $200 free credit over 60 days.

Claim $200 Free Credit
→

Related

Alternatives to assay →Alternatives to toolhive →assay details →toolhive details →