A Visual Studio Code extension that performs static analysis of C++ code to detect anti-patterns and code quality issues. Built on top of tree-sitter for efficient AST-based analysis with real-time feedback.

Features

Detection of 15 anti-patterns in C++ code
Configurable rules via .cppquality.json file
Support for multiple naming conventions (Google, LLVM, Microsoft, Qt, STL)
File ignore patterns via glob expressions
Quick Fix actions for particular anti-patterns
Optional automatic fixes on save
Incremental parsing for efficient analysis of large files
Real-time analysis during typing

Anti-patterns detected

Structural

Long Function — functions exceeding configured line count
Deep Nesting — excessively nested control flow statements
Too Many Parameters — functions with too many required parameters
Deeply Nested Ternary — chained ternary operators beyond configured depth
Global Variables — non-const global mutable state
Parameter Reassignment — modification of by-value parameters inside function body
Duplicate Condition — repeated conditions in if-else if chains
Magic Numbers — numeric literals without named constants
Boolean Comparison — redundant comparison with true / false
Redundant Boolean Return — if-else returning boolean literals
Redundant Boolean Ternary — cond ? true : false patterns
Naming Convention — identifier names not matching chosen style guide
Nested Try — nested try-catch blocks
Exit Call — usage of exit(), abort(), _Exit(), quick_exit()
Empty Catch Block — silent exception handling

Quick Fix actions

Three rules support automatic code transformations through the Quick Fix menu (Ctrl+.):

Boolean Comparison
Redundant Boolean Return
Redundant Boolean Ternary

Configuration

Create a .cppquality.json file in your project root (or anywhere within the workspace):

```json { "ignore": ["/build/", "/third_party/", "*.generated.cpp"], "fixOnSave": { "enabled": true, "rules": ["booleanComparison", "redundantBooleanReturn"] }, "rules": { "longFunction": { "enabled": true, "level": "warn", "maxLines": 30 }, "deepNesting": { "enabled": true, "level": "warn", "maxDepth": 4 }, "namingConvention": { "enabled": true, "level": "warn", "style": "google" }, "magicNumbers": { "enabled": false } } } ```

Configuration options

ignore — array of glob patterns for files to exclude from analysis.
fixOnSave — controls automatic fix application on save. Requires VS Code editor.codeActionsOnSave to be enabled (see below). The rules field is optional; when omitted, all supported auto-fixable rules will run.
rules — per-rule configuration. Each rule supports enabled (boolean) and level ("warn", "info", "error"). Some rules have additional options (maxLines, maxDepth, style, etc).

Enabling fixes on save

To enable automatic fix application on save, add the following to your VS Code settings.json:

```json { "editor.codeActionsOnSave": { "source.fixAll.cppaquality": "explicit" } } ```

Use "explicit" to apply fixes only on manual save (Ctrl+S), or "always" to apply on any save event including autosave.

Supported naming styles

namingConvention rule supports five popular style guides:

google — snake_case variables, PascalCase functions/types, kPascalCase constants
llvm — PascalCase variables, camelCase functions, SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE constants
microsoft — camelCase variables, PascalCase functions/types, SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE constants
qt — camelCase variables/functions, PascalCase types
stl — snake_case everywhere

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.85.0 or higher
C++ source files (.cpp, .cxx, .cc, .c++, .hpp, .hxx, .h++, .h)

Release Notes

1.0.0

Added incremental parsing with tree caching for improved performance
Added file ignore patterns via ignore config field
Added Quick Fix actions for Boolean Comparison, Redundant Boolean Return, Redundant Boolean Ternary
Added optional automatic fixes on save via fixOnSave config
Added Duplicate Condition detection
Added Redundant Boolean Ternary detection

0.0.2

Refactoring and small fixes

0.0.1

Initial prototype release with basic anti-pattern detection

CPP Quality Analyzer