--- stage: Secure group: Static Analysis info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments --- # Code Quality **(FREE)** > [Moved](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/212499) to GitLab Free in 13.2. To ensure your project's code stays simple, readable, and easy to contribute to, you can use [GitLab CI/CD](../index.md) to analyze your source code quality. For example, while you're implementing a feature, you can run Code Quality reports to analyze how your improvements are impacting your code's quality. You can use this information to ensure that your changes are improving performance rather than degrading it. Code Quality: - Uses [plugins](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/list-of-engines) supported by Code Climate, which are free and open source. Code Quality does not require a Code Climate subscription. - Runs in [pipelines](../pipelines/index.md) by using a Docker image built in the [GitLab Code Quality](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality) project. - Uses [default Code Climate configurations](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality/-/tree/master/codeclimate_defaults). - Can make use of a [template](#example-configuration). - Is available by using [Auto Code Quality](../../topics/autodevops/stages.md#auto-code-quality), provided by [Auto DevOps](../../topics/autodevops/index.md). - Can be extended through [Analysis Plugins](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/list-of-engines) or a [custom tool](#implementing-a-custom-tool). ## Summary of features per tier Different features are available in different [GitLab tiers](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/), as shown in the following table: | Capability | In Free | In Premium | In Ultimate | |:----------------------------------------------------------------------|:--------------------|:--------------------|:-------------------| | [Configure scanners](#configuring-jobs-using-variables) | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | | [Integrate custom scanners](#implementing-a-custom-tool) | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | | [Generate JSON or HTML report artifacts](#generate-an-html-report) | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | | [See findings in merge request widget](#code-quality-widget) | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | | [See reports in CI pipelines](#code-quality-reports) | **{dotted-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | | [See findings in merge request diff view](#code-quality-in-diff-view) | **{dotted-circle}** | **{dotted-circle}** | **{check-circle}** | ## Code Quality Widget > [Moved](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/212499) to GitLab Free in 13.2. Going a step further, GitLab can show the Code Quality report right in the merge request widget area if a report from the target branch is available to compare to: ![Code Quality Widget](img/code_quality_widget_13_11.png) Watch a quick walkthrough of Code Quality in action:
See the video: Code Quality: Speed Run.
NOTE: For one customer, the auditor found that having Code Quality, SAST, and Container Scanning all automated in GitLab CI/CD was almost better than a manual review! [Read more](https://about.gitlab.com/customers/bi_worldwide/). See also the Code Climate list of [Supported Languages for Maintainability](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/supported-languages-for-maintainability). ## Code Quality in diff view **(ULTIMATE)** > - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/267612) in GitLab 13.11, disabled by default behind the `codequality_mr_diff` [feature flag](../../administration/feature_flags.md). > - [Enabled by default](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/284140) in GitLab 13.12. > - [Disabled by default](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/2526) in GitLab 14.0 due to [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/334116). > - [Inline annotation added](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/2526) and [feature flag removed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/284140) in GitLab 14.1. Changes to files in merge requests can cause Code Quality to fall if merged. In these cases, the merge request's diff view displays an indicator next to lines with new Code Quality violations. For example: ![Code Quality MR diff report](img/code_quality_mr_diff_report_v14_2.png) ## Example configuration This example shows how to run Code Quality on your code by using GitLab CI/CD and Docker. - Using shared runners, the job should be configured For the [Docker-in-Docker workflow](../docker/using_docker_build.md#use-docker-in-docker). - Using private runners, there is an [alternative configuration](#set-up-a-private-runner-for-code-quality-without-docker-in-docker) recommended for running Code Quality analysis more efficiently. In either configuration, the runner must have enough disk space to handle generated Code Quality files. For example on the [GitLab project](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab) the files are approximately 7 GB. Once you set up GitLab Runner, include the [Code Quality template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/lib/gitlab/ci/templates/Jobs/Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml) in your CI configuration: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml ``` The above example creates a `code_quality` job in your CI/CD pipeline which scans your source code for code quality issues. The report is saved as a [Code Quality report artifact](../yaml/artifacts_reports.md#artifactsreportscodequality) that you can later download and analyze. It's also possible to override the URL to the Code Quality image by setting the `CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE` CI/CD variable. This is particularly useful if you want to lock in a specific version of Code Quality, or use a fork of it: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: variables: CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE: "registry.example.com/codequality-fork:latest" ``` In [GitLab 13.4 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/11100), you can override the [Code Quality environment variables](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality#environment-variables): ```yaml variables: TIMEOUT_SECONDS: 1 include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml ``` By default, report artifacts are not downloadable. If you need them downloadable on the job details page, you can add `gl-code-quality-report.json` to the artifact paths like so: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: artifacts: paths: [gl-code-quality-report.json] ``` The included `code_quality` job is running in the `test` stage, so it needs to be included in your CI configuration, like so: ```yaml stages: - test ``` NOTE: This information is automatically extracted and shown right in the merge request widget. WARNING: On self-managed instances, if a malicious actor compromises the Code Quality job definition they could execute privileged Docker commands on the runner host. Having proper access control policies mitigates this attack vector by allowing access only to trusted actors. ### Set up a private runner for code quality without Docker-in-Docker It's possible to configure your own runners and avoid Docker-in-Docker. You can use a configuration that may greatly speed up job execution without requiring your runners to operate in privileged mode. This alternative configuration uses socket binding to share the Runner's Docker daemon with the job environment. Be aware that this configuration [has significant considerations](../docker/using_docker_build.md#use-docker-socket-binding) to be consider, but may be preferable depending on your use case. 1. Register a new runner: ```shell $ gitlab-runner register --executor "docker" \ --docker-image="docker:stable" \ --url "https://gitlab.com/" \ --description "cq-sans-dind" \ --tag-list "cq-sans-dind" \ --locked="false" \ --access-level="not_protected" \ --docker-volumes "/cache"\ --docker-volumes "/builds:/builds"\ --docker-volumes "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock" \ --registration-token="" \ --non-interactive ``` 1. **Optional, but recommended:** Set the builds directory to `/tmp/builds`, so job artifacts are periodically purged from the runner host. If you skip this step, you must clean up the default builds directory (`/builds`) yourself. You can do this by adding the following two flags to `gitlab-runner register` in the previous step. ```shell --builds-dir "/tmp/builds" --docker-volumes "/tmp/builds:/tmp/builds" # Use this instead of --docker-volumes "/builds:/builds" ``` The resulting configuration: ```toml [[runners]] name = "cq-sans-dind" url = "https://gitlab.com/" token = "" executor = "docker" builds_dir = "/tmp/builds" [runners.docker] tls_verify = false image = "docker:stable" privileged = false disable_entrypoint_overwrite = false oom_kill_disable = false disable_cache = false volumes = ["/cache", "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock", "/tmp/builds:/tmp/builds"] shm_size = 0 [runners.cache] [runners.cache.s3] [runners.cache.gcs] ``` 1. Apply two overrides to the `code_quality` job created by the template: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: services: # Shut off Docker-in-Docker tags: - cq-sans-dind # Set this job to only run on our new specialized runner ``` The end result is that: - Privileged mode is not used. - Docker-in-Docker is not used. - Docker images, including all CodeClimate images, are cached, and not re-fetched for subsequent jobs. With this configuration, the run time for a second pipeline is much shorter. For example this [small change](https://gitlab.com/drew/test-code-quality-template/-/merge_requests/4/diffs?commit_id=1e705607aef7236c1b20bb6f637965f3f3e53a46) to an [open merge request](https://gitlab.com/drew/test-code-quality-template/-/merge_requests/4/pipelines) running Code Quality analysis ran significantly faster the second time: ![Code Quality sequential runs without DinD](img/code_quality_host_bound_sequential.png) This configuration is not possible on `gitlab.com` shared runners. Shared runners are configured with `privileged=true`, and they do not expose `docker.sock` into the job container. As a result, socket binding cannot be used to make `docker` available in the context of the job script. [Docker-in-Docker](../docker/using_docker_build.md#use-docker-in-docker) was chosen as an operational decision by the runner team, instead of exposing `docker.sock`. ### Disabling the code quality job The `code_quality` job doesn't run if the `$CODE_QUALITY_DISABLED` CI/CD variable is present. Please refer to the CI/CD variables [documentation](../variables/index.md) to learn more about how to define one. To disable the `code_quality` job, add `CODE_QUALITY_DISABLED` as a custom CI/CD variable. This can be done: - For [the whole project](../variables/index.md#custom-cicd-variables). - For a single pipeline run: 1. Go to **CI/CD > Pipelines** 1. Select **Run pipeline** 1. Add `CODE_QUALITY_DISABLED` as the variable key, with any value. ### Using with merge request pipelines The configuration provided by the Code Quality template does not let the `code_quality` job run on [merge request pipelines](../pipelines/merge_request_pipelines.md). If merge request pipelines is enabled, the `code_quality:rules` must be redefined. The template has these [`rules`](../yaml/index.md#rules) for the `code quality` job: ```yaml code_quality: rules: - if: $CODE_QUALITY_DISABLED when: never - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG || $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH ``` If you are using merge request pipelines, your `rules` (or [`workflow: rules`](../yaml/index.md#workflow)) might look like this example: ```yaml job1: rules: - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" # Run job1 in merge request pipelines - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main" # Run job1 in pipelines on the main branch (but not in other branch pipelines) - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG # Run job1 in pipelines for tags ``` To make these work together, you need to overwrite the code quality `rules` so that they match your current `rules`. From the example above, it could look like: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: rules: - if: $CODE_QUALITY_DISABLED when: never - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" # Run code quality job in merge request pipelines - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH # Run code quality job in pipelines on the default branch (but not in other branch pipelines) - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG # Run code quality job in pipelines for tags ``` ### Configure Code Quality to use a private container image registry > [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality/-/merge_requests/30) in 13.7. To reduce network time and external dependency, you can use your own container image registry to host the Code Quality Docker images. Because of the nested architecture of container execution, the registry prefix must be specifically configured to be passed down into CodeClimate's subsequent `docker pull` commands for individual engines. The following two variables can address all of the required image pulls: - `CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE`: A fully prefixed image name that can be located anywhere accessible from your job environment. GitLab Container Registry can be used here to host your own copy. - `CODECLIMATE_PREFIX`: The domain of your intended container image registry. This is a configuration option supported by [CodeClimate CLI](https://github.com/codeclimate/codeclimate/pull/948). You must: - Include a trailing slash (`/`). - Not include a protocol prefix, such as `https://`. ```yaml include: - template: Jobs/Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: variables: CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE: "my-private-registry.local:12345/codequality:0.85.24" CODECLIMATE_PREFIX: "my-private-registry.local:12345/" ``` The images in the private container image registry must be available without authentication. Follow [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/355814) for more information. This example is specific to GitLab Code Quality. For more general instructions on how to configure DinD with a registry mirror, see the relevant [documentation](../docker/using_docker_build.md#enable-registry-mirror-for-dockerdind-service). ## Configuring jobs using variables The Code Quality job supports environment variables that users can set to configure job execution at runtime. For a list of available environment variables, see [Environment variables](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality#environment-variables). ## Implementing a custom tool It's possible to have a custom tool provide Code Quality reports in GitLab. To do this: 1. Define a job in your `.gitlab-ci.yml` file that generates the [Code Quality report artifact](../yaml/artifacts_reports.md#artifactsreportscodequality). 1. Configure your tool to generate the Code Quality report artifact as a JSON file that implements a subset of the [Code Climate spec](https://github.com/codeclimate/platform/blob/master/spec/analyzers/SPEC.md#data-types). The Code Quality report artifact JSON file must contain an array of objects with the following properties: | Name | Description | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `description` | A description of the code quality violation. | | `fingerprint` | A unique fingerprint to identify the code quality violation. For example, an MD5 hash. | | `severity` | A severity string (can be `info`, `minor`, `major`, `critical`, or `blocker`). | | `location.path` | The relative path to the file containing the code quality violation. | | `location.lines.begin` or `location.positions.begin.line` | The line on which the code quality violation occurred. | Example: ```json [ { "description": "'unused' is assigned a value but never used.", "fingerprint": "7815696ecbf1c96e6894b779456d330e", "severity": "minor", "location": { "path": "lib/index.js", "lines": { "begin": 42 } } } ] ``` NOTE: Although the Code Climate spec supports more properties, those are ignored by GitLab. The GitLab parser does not allow a [byte order mark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte_order_mark) at the beginning of the file. ## Code Quality reports **(PREMIUM)** > [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/21527) in GitLab 12.9. ![Code Quality Report](img/code_quality_report_13_11.png) After the Code Quality job completes: - Potential changes to code quality are shown directly in the merge request. The Code Quality widget in the merge request compares the reports from the base and head of the branch, then lists any violations that are resolved or created when the branch is merged. - The full JSON report is available as a [downloadable artifact](../pipelines/job_artifacts.md#download-job-artifacts) for the `code_quality` job. - The full list of code quality violations generated by a pipeline is shown in the Code Quality tab of the Pipeline Details page. ## Generate an HTML report In [GitLab 13.6 and later](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality/-/issues/10), it is possible to generate an HTML report file by setting the `REPORT_FORMAT` CI/CD variable to `html`. This is useful if you just want to view the report in a more human-readable format or to publish this artifact on GitLab Pages for even easier reviewing. To generate both JSON and HTML report files, add another job to your template by using `extends: code_quality`: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality_html: extends: code_quality variables: REPORT_FORMAT: html artifacts: paths: [gl-code-quality-report.html] ``` NOTE: Adding a job means your code is scanned twice: once to generate a JSON report and once to generate an HTML report. You can also generate _only_ an HTML report instead of the standard JSON report. To do so, set `REPORT_FORMAT` to `html` in the existing job: ```yaml include: - template: Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml code_quality: variables: REPORT_FORMAT: html artifacts: paths: [gl-code-quality-report.html] ``` WARNING: If you only generate an HTML report, you can't see your results in the [merge request widget](#code-quality-widget), [pipeline report](#code-quality-reports), or [diff view](#code-quality-in-diff-view). These features require a JSON report. ## Extending functionality ### Using Analysis Plugins Should there be a need to extend the default functionality provided by Code Quality, as stated in [Code Quality](#code-quality), [Analysis Plugins](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/list-of-engines) are available. For example, to use the [SonarJava analyzer](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/sonar-java), add a file named `.codeclimate.yml` containing the [enablement code](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/sonar-java#enable-the-plugin) for the plugin to the root of your repository: ```yaml version: "2" plugins: sonar-java: enabled: true ``` This adds SonarJava to the `plugins:` section of the [default `.codeclimate.yml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality/-/blob/master/codeclimate_defaults/.codeclimate.yml.template) included in your project. Changes to the `plugins:` section do not affect the `exclude_patterns` section of the default `.codeclimate.yml`. See the Code Climate documentation for [excluding files and folders](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/excluding-files-and-folders) for more details. Here's [an example project](https://gitlab.com/jheimbuck_gl/jh_java_example_project) that uses Code Quality with a `.codeclimate.yml` file. ## Use a Code Quality image hosted in a registry with untrusted certificates If you set the `CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE` to an image that is hosted in a Docker registry which uses a TLS certificate that is not trusted, such as a self-signed certificate, you can see errors like the one below: ```shell $ docker pull --quiet "$CODE_QUALITY_IMAGE" Error response from daemon: Get https://gitlab.example.com/v2/: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority ``` To fix this, configure the Docker daemon to [trust certificates](https://docs.docker.com/registry/insecure/#use-self-signed-certificates) by putting the certificate inside of the `/etc/docker/certs.d` directory. This Docker daemon is exposed to the subsequent Code Quality Docker container in the [GitLab Code Quality template](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/v13.8.3-ee/lib/gitlab/ci/templates/Jobs/Code-Quality.gitlab-ci.yml#L41) and should be to exposed any other containers in which you want to have your certificate configuration apply. ### Docker If you have access to GitLab Runner configuration, add the directory as a [volume mount](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html#volumes-in-the-runnersdocker-section). For example: ```toml [[runners]] ... executor = "docker" [runners.docker] ... privileged = true volumes = ["/cache", "/etc/gitlab-runner/certs/gitlab.example.com.crt:/etc/docker/certs.d/gitlab.example.com/ca.crt:ro"] ``` Replace `gitlab.example.com` with the actual domain of the registry. ### Kubernetes If you have access to GitLab Runner configuration and the Kubernetes cluster, you can [mount a ConfigMap](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/kubernetes.html#configmap-volumes): 1. Create a ConfigMap with the certificate: ```shell kubectl create configmap registry-crt --namespace gitlab-runner --from-file /etc/gitlab-runner/certs/gitlab.example.com.crt ``` 1. Update GitLab Runner `config.toml` to specify the ConfigMap: ```toml [[runners]] ... executor = "kubernetes" [runners.kubernetes] image = "alpine:3.12" privileged = true [[runners.kubernetes.volumes.config_map]] name = "registry-crt" mount_path = "/etc/docker/certs.d/gitlab.example.com/ca.crt" sub_path = "gitlab.example.com.crt" ``` Replace `gitlab.example.com` with the actual domain of the registry. ## Troubleshooting ### Changing the default configuration has no effect A common issue is that the terms `Code Quality` (GitLab specific) and `Code Climate` (Engine used by GitLab) are very similar. You must add a **`.codeclimate.yml`** file to change the default configuration, **not** a `.codequality.yml` file. If you use the wrong filename, the [default `.codeclimate.yml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality/-/blob/master/codeclimate_defaults/.codeclimate.yml.template) is still used. ### No Code Quality report is displayed in a merge request This can be due to multiple reasons: - You just added the Code Quality job in your `.gitlab-ci.yml`. The report does not have anything to compare to yet, so no information can be displayed. It only displays after future merge requests have something to compare to. - Your pipeline is not set to run the code quality job on your target branch. If there is no report generated from the target branch, your MR branch reports have nothing to compare to. In this situation you will see an error stating `Base pipeline codequality artifact not found`. - If no [degradation or error is detected](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/maintainability#section-checks), nothing is displayed. - The [`artifacts:expire_in`](../yaml/index.md#artifactsexpire_in) CI/CD setting can cause the Code Quality artifacts to expire faster than desired. - The widgets use the pipeline of the latest commit to the target branch. If commits are made to the default branch that do not run the code quality job, this may cause the merge request widget to have no base report for comparison. - If you use the [`REPORT_STDOUT` environment variable](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/ci-cd/codequality#environment-variables), no report file is generated and nothing displays in the merge request. - Large `gl-code-quality-report.json` files (esp. >10 MB) are [known to prevent the report from being displayed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/2737). As a work-around, try removing [properties](https://github.com/codeclimate/platform/blob/master/spec/analyzers/SPEC.md#data-types) that are [ignored by GitLab](#implementing-a-custom-tool). You can: - Configure the Code Quality tool to not output those types. - Use `sed`, `awk` or similar commands in the `.gitlab-ci.yml` script to edit the `gl-code-quality-report.json` before the job completes. ### Only a single Code Quality report is displayed, but more are defined GitLab only uses the Code Quality artifact from the latest created job (with the largest job ID). If multiple jobs in a pipeline generate a code quality artifact, those of earlier jobs are ignored. To avoid confusion, configure only one job to generate a `gl-code-quality-report.json`. ### RuboCop errors When using Code Quality jobs on a Ruby project, you can encounter problems running RuboCop. For example, the following error can appear when using either a very recent or very old version of Ruby: ```plaintext /usr/local/bundle/gems/rubocop-0.52.1/lib/rubocop/config.rb:510:in `check_target_ruby': Unknown Ruby version 2.7 found in `.ruby-version`. (RuboCop::ValidationError) Supported versions: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5 ``` This is caused by the default version of RuboCop used by the check engine not covering support for the Ruby version in use. To use a custom version of RuboCop that [supports the version of Ruby used by the project](https://docs.rubocop.org/rubocop/compatibility.html#support-matrix), you can [override the configuration through a `.codeclimate.yml` file](https://docs.codeclimate.com/docs/rubocop#using-rubocops-newer-versions) created in the project repository. For example, to specify using RuboCop release **0.67**: ```yaml version: "2" plugins: rubocop: enabled: true channel: rubocop-0-67 ``` ### No Code Quality appears on merge requests when using custom tool If your merge requests do not show any code quality changes when using a custom tool, ensure that the line property is an `integer`. ### Code Quality CI job with Code Climate plugins enabled fails with error If you enabled any of the Code Climate plugins, and the Code Quality CI job fails with the error below, it's likely the job takes longer than the default timeout of 900 seconds: ```shell error: (CC::CLI::Analyze::EngineFailure) engine pmd ran for 900 seconds and was killed Could not analyze code quality for the repository at /code ``` To work around this problem, set `TIMEOUT_SECONDS` to a higher value in your `.gitlab.-ci.yml` file. For example: ```yaml variables: TIMEOUT_SECONDS: 3600 ```