macrostack
Tool profile · Compliance automation & security posture

Steampipe + Powerpipe

Query your cloud configuration as SQL, with compliance mods on top.

86
sovereignty

Steampipe exposes cloud and SaaS configuration as SQL tables; Powerpipe runs benchmark mods against them, including CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI packs. The most flexible option here — if you can express a control as a query, you can check it continuously.

OPEN SOURCEAGPL-3.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
LicenseAGPL-3.0
PricingFree / self-host; paid Turbot Pipes hosted option
Open sourceYes
Self-hostableYes
Local-first dataYes

What it does well

  • +SQL over live cloud state is unusually powerful for bespoke controls
  • +Large library of community compliance benchmarks
  • +Composes well with existing data tooling rather than being another silo

Where it falls short

  • −Assumes comfort with SQL and with defining your own controls
  • −Split across two tools since the 2024 Powerpipe separation
  • −No evidence archive, policy engine or auditor-facing output

Steampipe + Powerpipe as an alternative to

Where Steampipe + Powerpipe shows up in our comparisons, and how it ranked.

Steampipe + Powerpipe head-to-head

Straight comparisons against the tools people weigh it against.

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