List of tools for static code analysis explained

This is a list of notable tools for static program analysis (program analysis is a synonym for code analysis).

Static code analysis tools

ToolLatest releaseFree softwareSupported languagesNotes
AdaC, C++, C#, JVMJavaScript, TypeScript.NET, VB.NETPythonOther languages
Astrée2021-10 (21.10)
proprietary
C, C++Finds all potential runtime errors and data races by abstract interpretation, can prove their absence, and can prove functional assertions; tailored towards safety-critical C/C++ code (e.g. avionics and automotive). Includes MISRA checker.
BLAST (retired)2015-10-30 (2.7.3)
ASL 2
CAn open-source software model checker for C programs based on lazy abstraction (follow-on project is CPAchecker.[1]).
Clang
ASL 2 with LLVM Exceptions
C, C++, Objective-CAn open-source compiler that includes a static analyzer. As of version 3.2, this analyzer is included in Xcode.[2] [3]
Coccinelle2021-09-06 (1.1.1)
GPLv2
CAn open-source source code pattern matching and transformation.
Code Dx
proprietary
C, C++, C#Java, JSP, ScalaJavaScriptVB.NETPythonPHP, Rails, Ruby, XML[4] Software application vulnerability correlation and management system that uses multiple SAST and DAST tools, as well as the results of manual code reviews. Can calculate cyclomatic complexity.
CodePeer2021-05-07 (21)
proprietary
AdaAn advanced static analysis tool that detects potential run-time logic errors in Ada programs.
CodeScene2023-10-13(6.3.5)
proprietary
C, C++, C#, Objective-CJava, Groovy, ScalaJavaScript, TypeScriptVB.NETPython Swift, Go, PHP, RubyBehavioral analysis of code. Helps identify, prioritize, and manage technical debt. Measures organizational aspects of developer teams. Automated pull request integrations.
CodeQL2023-02-07 (CLI: 2.12.2)
proprietary
C, C++, C#Java, KotlinJavaScript, TypeScript.NETPythonGo, RubyA code searching tool with an emphasis on finding software bugs. Search patterns are written in a query language which can search the AST and graphs (CFG, DFG, etc.) of supported languages. A plugin is available for Visual Studio.
ConQAT (retired)2015-02-01
ASL 2
AdaC#, C++JavaJavaScriptABAPContinuous quality assessment toolkit that allows flexible configuration of quality analyses (architecture conformance, clone detection, quality metrics, etc.) and dashboards.
Coverity2023-04-29 (2022.12)[5]
proprietary
C, C++, C#, Objective-CJavaJavaScript, TypeScriptPythonRuby, PHPMulti-language tool for security and quality issues. Supports compliance standards (MISRA, ISO 26262 and others). Free to use for open-source projects.
ECLAIR2021-07-15 (3.11)[6]
proprietary
C, C++Multi-language tool for software verification. Applications range from coding rule validation, to automatic generation of testcases, to the proof of absence of run-time errors or generation of counterexamples, and to the specification of code matchers and rewriters based both syntactic and semantic conditions. Supports compliance standards (MISRA, Embedded C Coding Standard and others).
CPAchecker2022-01-24 (2.1.1)
ASL 2
CA configurable software verification tool for execution path checking of C.
Cppcheck2023-09-10 (2.12)
GPLv3
C, C++Open-source tool that checks for several types of errors, including use of STL. MISRA support is being added.
Cppdepend2023-03-01 (2023.1)[7]
proprietary
C, C++Simplifies managing a complex C/C++ code base by analyzing and visualizing code dependencies, by defining design rules, by doing impact analysis, and comparing different versions of the code.
Cpplint2020-07-29
CC-BY-3.0[8]
C++An open-source tool that checks for compliance with Google's style guide for C++ coding.
Fluctuat2001
proprietary
Ada95CAbstract interpreter for the validation of numerical properties of programs.
Frama-C2022-06-21
LGPL v2.1, BSD, QPL
CAn open-source extensible analysis framework for C with several analyzers and a specification language common to all of them. Includes analyses based on abstract interpretation, deductive verification and runtime monitoring.
GrammaTech CodeSonar2020-06-01 (5.3)
proprietary
C, C++, Objective-CJavaDefect detection (buffer overruns, memory leaks, etc.), concurrency and security checks, architecture visualization and software metrics.
GCC2023-4-26 (13.1)
GPLv3+ with GCC Runtime Library Exception
CCompiling with -fanalyzer flag (available from GCC 10) enables the static analyzer functionality[9]
HCL Security AppScan Source2020-12-01 (10.0.3)
proprietary
C, C++Java, JSPJavaScript.NETPythonColdFusion, ASP, PHP, Perl, Visual Basic 6, PL/SQL, T-SQL, COBOLAnalyzes source code to identify security vulnerabilities while integrating security testing with software development processes and systems.
Helix QAC2023-04 (2023.1)
proprietary
C, C++Formerly PRQA QA·C and QA·C++, deep static analysis of C/C++ for quality assurance and guideline/coding standard enforcement with MISRA support.
Infer Static Analyzer
MIT
C, C++, Objective-CJavaTargets null pointer problems, leaks, concurrency issues and API usage for Facebook's mobile apps. Available as open source on GitHub. Sometimes referred as Facebook Infer.
Imagix 4D2020-10-01 (10.1.0)
proprietary
C, C++JavaWindows and Linux versions.
Kiuwan2020-07-22
proprietary
C, C++, C#, Objective-CJava, JSPJavaScriptVB.NETABAP, COBOL, PHP, PL/SQL, T-SQL, SQL, Visual Basic, AndroidSoftware Analytics end-to-end platform for static code analysis and automated code review. It covers defect detection, application security & IT Risk Management, with enhanced life cycle and application governance features. Support for over 20 languages.
Klocwork2023-04-04 (2023.1)
proprietary
C, C++, C#JavaJavaScriptPythonKotlinProvides security vulnerability, standards compliance (MISRA, ISO 26262 and others), defect detection and build-over-build trend analysis
LDRA Testbed2021-05-07 (v9.8.6)
proprietary
Ada83, Ada95C, C++Assembler (Intel, Freescale, Texas Instruments)A software analysis and testing tool suite, that performs static analysis, standards enforcement (eg. MISRA C/C++), dynamic analysis, unit testing and requirements traceability.
Lint1978-07-26
permissive BSD-like[10]
CThe original, from 1978, static code analyzer for C.
MALPAS
proprietary
AdaCPascal, Assembler (Intel, PowerPC and Motorola)A software static analysis toolset for a variety of languages. Used primarily for safety critical applications in Nuclear and Aerospace industries.
Moose2021-01-21 (7.0.3)
MIT
C, C++Java.NETSmalltalkMoose started as a software analysis platform with many tools to manipulate, assess or visualize software. It can evolve to a more generic data analysis platform.
NDepend2022-03-16 (2022.1)[11]
proprietary
C# VB.NET .NETSimplifies managing a complex .NET code base by analyzing and visualizing code dependencies, by defining design rules, by doing impact analysis, and by comparing different versions. Integrates into Visual Studio.
.NET Compiler Platform (Roslyn)
MIT
C#VB.NETOpen-source compiler framework for C# and Visual Basic .NET developed by Microsoft .NET. Provides an API for analyzing and manipulating syntax. FxCop rules were implemented into Roslyn.
Parasoft C/C++test2020-11-12 (2020.2)
proprietary
C, C++A C/C++ tool that does static analysis, unit testing, code review, and runtime error detection; plugins available for Visual Studio and Eclipse-based IDEs.
PC-lint Plus2022-08-02 (2.0 Beta 2)
proprietary
C, C++A static analysis tool used to detect a wide range of defects, identify suspicious code, enforce various coding standards (MISRA/AUTOSAR/etc), calculate and report complex metrics, and implement user-defined checks.
PMD2023-2-25 (6.55.0)
BSD-like
C, C++Java, JSPJavaScriptColdFusion, PHPduplicate code detection (e.g.)[12] code.
Polyspace
proprietary
AdaC, C++Uses abstract interpretation to detect and prove the absence of certain run time errors and dead code in source code as well as used to check all MISRA (2004, 2012) rules (directives, non directives).
Pretty Diff
CC0
JavaScript, TypeScriptMarkup, script and style languages (like XML, CSS)A language-specific code comparison tool that features language-specific analysis reporting in addition to language-specific minification and beautification algorithms.
PVS-Studio
proprietary
C, C++, C++/CLI, C++/CX, C#JavaA software analysis tool.
Qodana2023-07-23 (2023.2)
proprietary
C#Java, KotlinJavaScript, TypeScriptVB.NETPythonGo, HTML, PHP, CSS, Android, Vue.jsA code quality analysis tool that uses static code analysis.
RIPS2020-02-17 (3.4)
proprietary
JavaPHPA static code analysis solution with many integration options for the automated detection of complex security vulnerabilities.
SAST Online2022-03-07 (1.1.0)
proprietary
JavaKotlin, APKCheck the Android Source code thoroughly to uncover and address potential security concerns and vulnerabilities. Static application security testing (Static Code Analysis) tool Online
Semgrep JavaJavaScript, TypeScriptPythonGo, JSON, PHP, Ruby, language-agnostic modeA static analysis tool that helps expressing code standards and surfacing bugs early. It also has experimental support for eleven other languages. A CI service and a rule library is also available.
Sider2021-02-02
proprietary
JavaScript, CoffeeScriptPythonRuby, PHP, GoStatic code analysis based automated code review tool working on GitHub and GitLab. Checks style, quality, dependencies, security and bugs. It integrates a number of open source static analysis tools.
SLAM project2010-07-14
proprietary
CA project of Microsoft Research for checking that software (drivers) satisfies critical behavioral properties of the interfaces it uses.
SofCheck Inspector, Codepeer2020-08-24 (21.x)
proprietary
AdaJavaStatic detection of logic errors, race conditions, and redundant code. automatically extracts pre-postconditions from code.
SonarQube2024-02-05 (10.4)
framework is LGPL v3.0, but some features can be proprietary
C, C#, C++, Objective-CJava, Kotlin, ScalaJavaScript, TypeScriptVB.NETPythonABAP, Apex, CSS, COBOL, Flex, Go, HTML, PHP, PLI, PL/SQL, Ruby, Swift, TSQL, Visual Basic 6, XMLA continuous inspection engine that finds vulnerabilities, bugs and code smells. Also tracks code complexity, unit test coverage and duplication. Offers branch analysis and C/C++/Objective-C support via commercial licenses.
SourceMeter2016-12-16 (8.2)
proprietary
C, C++JavaPythonRPG IV (AS/400)A platform-independent, command-line static source code analyzer. Integrates with PMD and SpotBugs.
Sourcetrail (retired)2021-04 (2021.4.19)
GPL
C, C++JavaPythonPerlAn open-source source code explorer that provides interactive dependency graphs and supports multiple programming languages.
Sparse2021-09-06 (0.6.4)
MIT
CGCC extensionsAn open-source tool designed to find faults in the Linux kernel.
2007-07-12 (3.1.2)
GPLv2
CAn open-source tool statically checking C programs for security vulnerabilities and coding mistakes.
StyleCop2016-05-02 (2016.1.0)C#.NETAnalyzes C# source code to enforce a set of style and consistency rules. It can be run from inside of Microsoft Visual Studio or integrated into an MSBuild project.
Squore2020-11-27 (20.1)
proprietary
AdaC, C++, C#, Objective-CJavaJavaScript, TypeScriptVB.NETPythonFortran, PHP, PL/SQL, Swift, T-SQL, XAMLA multi-purpose and multi-language monitoring tool for software projects. It integrates with other scanners.
Understand2023-01-19 (6.3)
proprietary
AdaC, C++, C#, Objective-CJavaJavaScriptPythonFORTRAN, Jovial, Pascal, VHDL, HTML, PHP, XMLA multi-platform tool for code analysis and comprehension of large code bases. Can recognize multiple dialects of C, C++ and C# like ANSI, K&R and Objective C++.
Visual Expert2021-09-10
proprietary
PowerBuilder, Oracle PL/SQL, SQL Server Transact-SQL (T-SQL)Continuous Code inspection, reports on quality and security issues, helps understand complex code (cross-references, source code documentation, code comparison, code performance analysis).
Visual Studio2021-10-12 (16.11)
proprietary
C, C++, C#VB.NETAn IDE that provides static code analysis for C/C++ both in the editor environment and from the compiler command line. Also includes the .NET Compiler Platform (Roslyn) which provides C# and VB.NET analysis.
Yasca (retired)2010-11-01 (2.21)
multiple licenses
C, C++JavaJavaScriptASP, PHP, HTML, CSS, ColdFusion, COBOLYet Another Source Code Analyzer, a plugin-based framework to scan arbitrary file types, with plugins. It integrates with other scanners, including FindBugs, PMD, and Pixy.
ToolReleaseFree softwareSupported languagesNotes

Languages

ToolLatest releaseFree softwareDuplicate
code
Notes
Checkstyle2020-01-26
 LGPL
Besides some static code analysis, it can be used to show violations of a configured coding standard. Duplicate code detection was removed[13] from Checkstyle.
Eclipse2017-06-28
EPL
Cross-platform IDE with own set of several hundred code inspections available for analyzing code on-the-fly in the editor and bulk analysis of the whole project. Plugins for Checkstyle, FindBugs, and PMD.
FindBugs2015-03-06
LGPL
Based on Jakarta BCEL from the University of Maryland. SpotBugs is the spiritual successor of FindBugs, carrying on from the point where it left off with support of its community.
IntelliJ IDEA2021-04-06
ASL 2
A leading Java IDE with built-in code inspection and analysis. Plugins for Checkstyle, FindBugs, and PMD.
JArchitect2017-06-11
proprietary
Simplifies managing a complex code base by analyzing and visualizing code dependencies, defining design rules, doing impact analysis, and by comparing different versions of the code.
Jtest2019-05-21
proprietary
Testing and static code analysis product by Parasoft.
Soot2020-10-28
LGPL
A language manipulation and optimization framework consisting of intermediate languages.
PMD2021-01-30
BSD License
Static code analyzer with support for plugins, including CPD. PMD supports checking of several languages.
Squale2011-05-26
LGPL
A platform to manage software quality.
ThreadSafe2014-03-28
proprietary
A static analysis tool focused on finding concurrency bugs.

Objective-C, Objective-C++

Opa

PowerBuilder, PowerScript

Formal methods tools

Tools that use sound, i.e. over-approximating a rigorous model, formal methods approach to static analysis (e.g., using static program assertions). Sound methods contain no false negatives for bug-free programs, at least with regards to the idealized mathematical model they are based on (there is no "unconditional" soundness). Note that there is no guarantee they will report all bugs for buggy programs, they will report at least one.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CPAchecker. 2015-02-08.
  2. Web site: Static Analysis in Xcode . Apple . 2009-09-03 . dead . 2009-09-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090905192610/http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/featuredarticles/StaticAnalysis/index.html.
  3. Web site: Running the analyzer within Xcode . 14 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211205091824/https://clang-analyzer.llvm.org/xcode.html . 5 December 2021.
  4. Web site: Supported Application Security Testing Tools and Languages. codedx.com. Apr 25, 2017.
  5. Web site: Coverity Scan website. 2023-08-23.
  6. Web site: ECLAIR website. 2021-10-07.
  7. Web site: CppDepend what's new . cppdepend.com . 1 March 2023.
  8. Web site: Readme.md of Google Style Guides . GitHub . 8 November 2021.
  9. Web site: Malcolm . David . 2020-03-26 . Static analysis in GCC 10 . 2022-04-13 . Red Hat Developer . en.
  10. Web site: UNIX is free! . lemis.com . 2002-01-24.
  11. Web site: NDepend what's new . ndepend.com . 15 June 2022.
  12. Web site: PMD - Browse /pmd/5.0.0 at SourceForge.net. Dec 9, 2012.
  13. Web site: Remove StrictDuplicateCodeCheck and whole package · Issue #523 · checkstyle/Checkstyle. GitHub.
  14. Web site: Static Analysis in Xcode . Apple . 2009-09-03.
  15. Web site: Visual Expert for Oracle - PL/SQL Code Analyzer. 2017-08-24. www.visual-expert.com.
  16. Web site: Visual Expert for SQL Server - Transact SQL Code Analyzer. 2017-08-24. www.visual-expert.com.
  17. Book: Cousot, Patrick . The Role of Abstract Interpretation in Formal Methods . Fifth IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods (SEFM 2007) . 135–140 . 2007 . IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods . 10.1109/SEFM.2007.42 . 978-0-7695-2884-7 . 67212 .