Troubleshooting

Some issues might be detected by third-party analyzers

SonarQube for IDE will only run rules from SonarSource analyzers including custom rules extending SonarSource analyzers. Third-party analyzers usually have their own IDE integration, and there is no plan to run them inside of SonarLint.

Your test files might be mistaken as source files

Test files can be defined in SonarQube Server, on SonarQube Cloud, or in the IDE, and each IDE handles test files a bit differently. For example, SonarQube for Visual Studio does not distinguish between project and test code, and SonarQube for IntelliJ relies on the IDE to detect if a file is a test file.  

In the case where the IntelliJ IDE detects the test file for SonarQube for IntelliJ:

• The file is under a test sources root. Those roots can be manually created by users or automatically populated by the IDE by relying on the build system such as Maven or Gradle, for example.
• The file is flagged as a test file by any plugin that you have installed. The IDE bundles some internal plugins like the “JavaScript and TypeScript” plugin; these internal plugins can infer if a file should be considered as a test file. Third-party plugins can also infer test files, and SonarLint will recognize these as such.

Some rules are too complex to run locally

Some rules can report issues at the project level or require extensive resources to analyze, such as injection vulnerabilities and some advanced bug detection rules; such issues are not displayed in SonarLint, only in SonarQube Server and SonarQube Cloud. Please check the SonarQube for IDE roadmap for a list of features and enhancements on the horizon.

File or language types are not supported

Check your IDE’s Rules and languages page for a list of supported languages and file types.

The analyzer version may be different

Improvements are constantly being made to the Sonar analyzers during the CI/CD development cycle. Depending on the product version you are running, you may have a different analyzer therefore, the results might be different.

• SonarQube Cloud is always running the latest analyzers.
• SonarQube Server and SonarQube Community Build runs the latest available analyzer at the time of its release.
• SonarQube for IDE runs the latest available analyzer at the time of its release.
• Sometimes SonarQube for IDE downloads and uses the same SonarQube Server or SonarQube Cloud analyzer when running in connected mode.

Your project configuration may be different

Discrepancies in C and C++ analysis may result from different project builds and system dependencies. For example, you might have one set up in your local build configuration and another set up for your CI build configuration (or the configuration created by Autoscan).

Troubleshooting C or C++ Analysis

Starting with version 4.21, it is possible to create a reproducer file for C and C++ analysis. A reproducer file contains diagnostic information to help the developers at SonarSource investigate problems that occur during C or C++ analysis.

Note: Starting with version 4.27, a second reproducer file is created with additional debug information.

If you encounter a problem with C or C++ analysis, please contact us in the Sonar Community forum and include the reproducer file(s).

Creating a reproducer file for the Active Document

To create a reproducer:

• open the C or C++ file that is not being analysed correctly
• open Visual Studio's Command Window, found under View > Other Windows > Command Window.
• type in the command window Analyze.SonarLint.CFamily.CreateReproducer:

You can then view the location of the created reproducer file(s) in the SonarQube for Visual Studio Output pane:

Reproducer file in SonarLint 4.21-4.26 

Reproducer files in SonarLint 4.27 

Notes:

• The reproducer file(s) are regenerated each time the command is invoked. Invoking the command will overwrite the previous reproducer file(s).
• Running the reproducer will only produce the reproducer file(s). It will not report any issues for the active C or C++ file.