Setting the initial analysis scope of your project
The initial analysis scope of a project must be defined for source code (also called main code) on one side and for test code on the other side.
- Test and source code are distinguished because test files must be excluded from the source-related metrics and different analysis rules are applied to each category.
- Additionally, test code does not count toward your lines of code (LOC) usage in SonarQube Cloud accounts and does not count toward coverage (you don’t have to test your test code).
The initial analysis scope of a project is controlled by the following sonar properties:
- For source code (non-test code):
sonar.sources - For test code (test code):
sonar.tests
which define that:
- Files outside the initial scope will not be analyzed at all.
- Files within the initial scope will be analyzed unless excluded by further adjustments.
Each project's initial scope is defined by default. If it doesn't suit you, you can set it explicitly.
Default initial scope
If you are analyzing code using the SonarScanner for Maven, the sonar.sources and sonar.tests parameters are automatically determined based on information in your project configuration. You do not have to explicitly set the parameters.
If you do explicitly set the parameters, for example in your pom.xml file, they will override the automatically determined values.
See also the Adjusting the analysis scope article on the SonarScanner for Maven page.
If you are analyzing code using the SonarScanner for Gradle, the sonar.sources and sonar.tests parameters are automatically determined based on information in your project configuration. You do not have to explicitly set the parameters.
If you do explicitly set the parameters, for example in your gradle.properties file, they will override the automatically determined values.
See also the SonarScanner for Gradle page for details about customizing your analysis.
The sonar.sources and sonar.tests parameters are not compatible with the SonarScanner for .NET. They are automatically detected and cannot be changed.
If you are analyzing code using the SonarScanner for .NET v8.0.1 or earlier, the sonar.sources and sonar.tests parameters are automatically determined based on information in your project configuration. The SonarScanner for .NET does not support user-defined values for sonar.sources and sonar.tests.
See the Configuring the SonarScanner for .NET page for details about customizing your analysis.
In cases other than Maven, Gradle or .NET (including both CI-based analysis and automatic analysis):
- By default,
sonar.sourcesis set to the value ofsonar.projectBaseDirproperty, which is, by default, the current working directory (i.e.: the path.). sonar.testsdefaults tonull, meaning there is assumed to be no test code.
Setting the initial scope explicitely
If the default initial scope is not suitable (see example below), you must set the initial scope explicitely.
Example where an explicit setting of the initial scope is necessary
We consider the following repository example where the main and test sources are clearly separated.
If the SonarScanner CLI is used, the corresponding code below can be used in the sonar-project.properties file to change the default initial scope (for an integrated scanner, the configuration can be done in the build’s project definition file).
# Define separate root directories for main and test sources
sonar.sources = main/
sonar.tests = test/The parameters sonar.sources and sonar.tests are only settable by key on the CI/CD host (mainly in configuration files or on the command line), not in the SonarQube Cloud UI. For more information, see Analysis parameters.
To set sonar.sources and sonar.tests:
- Use a comma-delimited list of directories or files.
- The entries in the list are simple paths. Wildcard patterns are not allowed.
- A directory in the list means that all analyzable files and directories recursively below it are included. An individual file in the list means that the file is included.
- The paths are interpreted relative to the project base directory which is defined through the
sonar.projectBaseDirproperty. In most cases, this is the root directory of the project. For more information about this property, see Analysis parameters > Analysis scope.
The C/C++/Objective-C analyzer doesn't currently support sonar.tests. See Analyzing test files in Customizing the CFamily analysis.
Related pages
- Excluding specific files from your project's code coverage analysis or duplication check
- Excluding files from your project analysis based on path-matching patterns
- Excluding files from your project analysis based on file extension
- Applying advanced exclusions to your project analysis
- Performing other analysis scope adjustments
- Verifying the analysis scope of your project
- Adjusting the analysis scope at the organization level
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