vacuum

Windows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted · API · Extension

Freedom report

Two barsScore 5.5

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

vacuum is ranked #21 of 26 in API design tools on Freedom251. It runs on API, Browser extension, Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows.

Compared on API design tools

OpenAPI support: Yes
AsyncAPI support: Yes

Best vacuum alternatives

See all 20

Two bars Apidog Free tier No. 1$9/mo6.7 Two bars Microcks Free tier No. 2Free6.7 Two bars Apollo Studio Free tier No. 3$5/mo6.6 Two bars MockServer Free tier No. 4Free6.6 Two bars oasdiff Free tier No. 5$100/mo6.6 Two bars Pact Free tier No. 6$115.42/mo6.6

The record

Purpose: Vacuum is a deterministic linter and quality checking tool for OpenAPI, AsyncAPI and JSON Schema specifications.
Scale: The maker says vacuum is designed to lint very large specifications and work at scale.
Implementation: Vacuum is written in Go, is multi-threaded and is designed as both a CLI and a library.
Reports: Vacuum provides a console dashboard, an interactive HTML report and a sealed report that can be re-rendered without rerunning lint logic.
Formats: Vacuum accepts YAML and JSON and supports OpenAPI 2 and 3+, AsyncAPI 3 and JSON Schema documents.
Rulesets: Vacuum supports Spectral rulesets, and the maker describes its ruleset as a superset of Spectral’s.
Security checks: Its security rules check whether API security definitions are correctly defined and placed.
Offline reports: The generated HTML report has no external dependencies and runs offline.
Editor integration: The VSCode extension is listed in the Visual Studio Code Marketplace and Open VSX, and automatically detects and lints OpenAPI or AsyncAPI YAML and JSON files.
CI integration: An official GitHub Action is available for adding vacuum to GitHub CI/CD workflows.
Distribution: The maker documents installation via Homebrew, NPM, Yarn, a shell installer, Docker and source checkout.
Support: The FAQ says vacuum is actively supported and companies can sponsor the project to receive priority support for issues.
Sponsor note: The FAQ invites sponsorship and says company sponsors can receive priority support for issues.
Maker identity: The author identifies himself as Dave Shanley, uses the handle quobix and says he founded Princess Beef Heavy Industries.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best API Design Tools in 2026#21 of 26
Best API Governance Software in 2026#13 of 22

Is vacuum yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote vacuum

Sources

quobix.com/vacuum/about/· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/daveshanley/vacuum· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/vacuum/faq/· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/vacuum/rules/security/· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/vacuum/vscode/· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/vacuum/github-action/· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/vacuum/installing/· checked 4 Oct 2026
quobix.com/author/· checked 4 Oct 2026