File exclusions

All versions of SonarQube for IDE will fetch file exclusions from SonarQube (Server, Cloud) or SonarQube Community Build when you bind a project while running in connected mode. Locally defined file exclusions will be ignored when running in connected mode. Check the SonarQube Server, SonarQube Cloud, and SonarQube Community Build documentation for information about defining your Analysis scope.

Exclusions in the IDE

SonarQube for Visual Studio allows you to exclude files and solutions from local analysis as defined in the SonarQube > Options or in the SonarQube > Solution Settings extension windows.

When running in Connected mode with SonarQube (Server, Cloud) or SonarQube Community Build, SonarQube for IDE will ignore local exclusions and fetch exclusions from the SonarQube (Server, Cloud) or SonarQube Community Build server.

Defining file exclusions

In Visual Studio, navigate to Extensions > SonarQube > Options > File Exclusions window and select Add to configure the file names and/or wild card patterns you want to exclude from the analysis. Select OK when finished. When analyzing C# and VB.NET files, exclusions will be applied on the next analysis run by the Roslyn analyzers.

The local file exclusions and exclusion patterns use the sonarlint.analysisExcludesStandalone property to update the same setting.json file where you enable and disable rules. To edit this json file directly, navigate to the SonarQube > Options > General window and select Edit Settings, which will open your settings.json file in Visual Studio. As when using the UI, exclusions for C# and VB.NET files are applied on the next analysis.

settings.json file format and location

The settings.json file is stored in your user's roaming profile %APPDATA%\SonarLint for Visual Studio. 

See this example as a format sample of your settings.json file. It changes the parameters on a few rules, and at the end, excludes any files matching *Interface.cs plus everything in the org/sonar/* directory.

{
 "sonarlint.rules": {
   "c:S1135": {
     "level": "On"
   },
   "cpp:S1199": {
     "level": "Off"
   },
   "cpp:SingleGotoOrBreakPerIteration": {
     "level": "On",
     "parameters": {
       "maxNumberOfTerminationStatements": "1"
     }
   },
   "javascript:S1135": {
     "level": "Off"
   },
   "typescript:S1854": {
     "level": "On"
   }
 }
  "sonarlint.analysisExcludesStandalone": "**/*Interface.cs,org/sonar/*"
}

Defining solution exclusions

Navigate to Extensions > SonarQube > Solution Settings > File Exclusions and select Add to configure the file names and/or wild card patterns you want to exclude from the analysis. Any acceptable wildcard pattern can be used. Note that the values you define here will override the global values defined in your File exclusions. Remember that when running SonarQube for Visual Studio in Connected mode, all locally defined exclusion values will be ignored.

Check the Scan my project page for information about specifying additional analyzer properties. 

Wildcard patterns

The recognized path-matching patterns are case-sensitive and defined using the following wildcards:

• *  Match zero or more characters (not including the directory delimiter,  / ).
• **  Match zero or more directory segments or files within the path.
• ?  Match a single character (not including the directory delimiter,  / ).

Wildcard examples

• The pattern  **/*.css
  • matches  anyDirectory/anyFile.css
  • doesn't match  org/sonar.api/MyBean.java
• The pattern  **/*Bean.java
  • matches  org/sonar.api/MyBean.java
  • doesn't match org/sonar.api/mybean.java or org/sonar/util/MyDTO.java
• The pattern  **/*Bean?.java
  • matches  org/sonar/util/MyOtherBean1.java
  • doesn't match  org/sonar/util/MyOtherBean.java
• The pattern  org/sonar/*
  • matches  org/sonar/MyClass.java
  • doesn't match  org/sonar/util/MyClassUtil.java
• The pattern  org/sonar/**/* is equivalent to org/sonar/** and
  • matches  org/sonar/anyDirectory/anyFile
  • matches org/sonar/MyClass.java
  • doesn't match  org/radar/MyClass.java

The use of ? to match a single character is available in SonarQube for Visual Studio.

Retrieving exclusions from the server

File exclusions

When running in connected mode, SonarQube for Visual Studio will fetch file exclusions from SonarQube Server or SonarQube Cloud when you bind a project. These settings are saved to a file named sonar.settings.json. 

Note that in SonarLint for Visual Studio 7.0, the settings file was moved outside of the solution directory; please check the Legacy Connected Mode article on the Previous versions page for information about the settings file in versions 6.16 and older.

For more information about how SonarQube for Visual Studio settings are handled by the server, see the SonarQube Server, SonarQube Cloud, or SonarQube Community Build documentation on setting your analysis scope.

Known limitations for file exclusions:

• Supported Languages: C# & VB (.NET support in SonarLint v6.15+), C, C++, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and Secrets.
• Patterns should start with **/
• Multicriteria and Test exclusions are not supported. SonarQube for Visual Studio only supports Global Source File Exclusions, Source File Exclusions, and Source File Inclusions when setting the analysis scope. For more information about file inclusion and exclusion, see the pages about file inclusion and exclusion in the SonarQube Server, SonarQube Cloud, or SonarQube Community Build documentation.