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Comparison · Infra & APIs

Cobbler vs Jackett

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Cobbler and Jackett — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Cobbler vs Jackett: at a glance

FeatureCobblerJackett
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesprovisioning, backport-branch, cve-backports, distro-packagingindexers, torrent-search, maintenance, daily-releases
Last editorial update12d ago7h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Cobbler?

A backport branch kept alive for downstreams, with the main line nowhere in sight.

Every release in Cobbler's visible history describes itself the same way: backports from main to make Cobbler more stable for the community. The 3.3.x line has absorbed real work under that framing — collection indices, lazy loading, new XML-RPC endpoints — but none of it originates here. The most recent item is a 3.2.3 build carrying the CVE-2024-47533 fix to an older branch, with its Fixed and Added sections left as literal TBD placeholders.

Read the full Cobbler trajectory →

What is Jackett?

Daily tags chasing tracker domain moves, login changes and freeleech detection

Jackett continues to ship a tag most mornings, each one a short auto-generated commit list of indexer definition edits. The newest adds a cookie login variant for HD-Space and captcha-aware login for funfile; the day before was a sweep of domain bumps and download-volume-factor detection corrections across torrenttip, magnetcat, 52bt, torrenteros, tocashare and seedcore. No release in this window touches the application itself.

Read the full Jackett trajectory →

Cobbler vs Jackett: editorial side-by-side

C
Cobbler
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A backport branch kept alive for downstreams, with the main line nowhere in sight.

◆ Current state

Every release in Cobbler's visible history describes itself the same way: backports from main to make Cobbler more stable for the community. The 3.3.x line has absorbed real work under that framing — collection indices, lazy loading, new XML-RPC endpoints — but none of it originates here. The most recent item is a 3.2.3 build carrying the CVE-2024-47533 fix to an older branch, with its Fixed and Added sections left as literal TBD placeholders.

◆ Where it's heading

This is a stabilization branch serving downstream packagers rather than a product advancing on its own. The work that does land splits cleanly into three buckets: distribution coverage (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux, RHEL9, openSUSE and SLE signatures), API surface for integrators, and security backports. 3.3.3 flagged dump_vars as the replacement for get_blended_data as of 3.4.0 — a version that has not appeared in any release since.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued single-purpose backports to 3.3.x and older branches as CVEs surface; the entries give no indication of when or whether the 3.4.0 work these releases keep deferring to will ship.

J
Jackett
INFRA · APIS
5.0

Daily tags chasing tracker domain moves, login changes and freeleech detection

◆ Current state

Jackett continues to ship a tag most mornings, each one a short auto-generated commit list of indexer definition edits. The newest adds a cookie login variant for HD-Space and captcha-aware login for funfile; the day before was a sweep of domain bumps and download-volume-factor detection corrections across torrenttip, magnetcat, 52bt, torrenteros, tocashare and seedcore. No release in this window touches the application itself.

◆ Where it's heading

This is maintenance as a product, and the cadence is the feature. Trackers rotate domains, add captchas, switch to cookie auth or vary their freeleech percentages, and Jackett absorbs each change within a day — Scenetime was added and dropped within days, 720pier removed and then restored by revert. The recurring shift from form login to cookie and captcha handling across sites is the one visible pattern: the definitions are steadily taking on more anti-bot handling.

◆ Prediction

Expect the same daily cadence of definition edits, with more cookie and captcha login variants as trackers tighten access. The entries show no application-level work planned or in progress.

Alternatives to Cobbler and Jackett

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Cobbler or Jackett.

See all Cobbler alternatives → · See all Jackett alternatives →

Recent activity from Cobbler and Jackett

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 9h agoJackettHD-Space cookie login variant; funfile captcha handling
  2. 1d agoJackettDomain bumps and freeleech detection fixes across six trackers
  3. 2d agoJackettIP filtering note for newstudio; anisource goes IPv6-only
  4. 3d agoJackett720pier tracker restored by revert
  5. 4d agoJackettScenetime dropped days after being added; new magnetcat domains
  6. 6d agoJackettdocspedia cookie auth, nyaa season search, duplicate GET fix
  7. 1mo agoCobblerCobbler 3.2.3 backports the CVE-2024-47533 admin API fix
  8. 1y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.7 closes an admin-API authentication bypass
  9. 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.6 adds EFI support to buildiso
  10. 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.5 adds collection indices and lazy loading
  11. 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.4 extends packaging to Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 12
  12. 4y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.3 adds resolved-value XML-RPC endpoints for Uyuni

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Cobbler and Jackett?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Jackett is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Cobbler better than Jackett?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Jackett is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Cobbler?

Top Cobbler alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Cobbler alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cobbler for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Jackett?

Top Jackett alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Jackett alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/jackett for the full list with editorial commentary on each.