Visual Studio Code Analysis Tools

Running clang-tidy results in itemized warnings populating the Error List, from where you can quickly navigate around your code. This feature provides a powerful tool for identifying and correcting coding errors, improving the overall quality of your software.

The Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4 Preview 1 brings a significant improvement to the C++ code analysis experience by introducing native support for clang-tidy, a Clang-based 'linter' tool developed by the LLVM Project. This tool delivers a variety of code improvements such as modernization and standards conformance, static analysis, and automatic formatting.

To configure clang-tidy, you can toggle squiggle display or background runs within Tools > Options > Text Editor > C/C++ > Advanced. You can also customize checks by specifying the clangTidyChecks key in the JSON view of CMakeSettings.json, with a string value to be passed to the tool's –checks option.

In addition, Clang-Tidy support for CMake configurations only extends to Windows, i.e., we do not currently support configuration via the CMAKE_CLANG_TIDY variable in CMakeLists.txt in the IDE. However, you can specify which tool(s) to use via the enableMicrosoftCodeAnalysis and enableClangTidy keys, with in-editor warnings and the Error List updating on file save.

Further configuration is possible via rule sets for the MSVC Code Analysis engine, which are configurable under the “Microsoft” tab. The “Clang-Tidy” tab allows you to specify which specific clang-tidy checks to enable or disable.

In the General tab, you can select which tool(s) to run when running analysis – whether that's via the Analyze menu, on build, or automatically in the background. We’ve redesigned the Code Analysis section of project Property Pages, allowing you to better configure and define which tool you’re using with each of your projects.

While Code Analysis will run automatically in the background on files opened in the Editor, by default it will not run at build time on all your files. Configuring clang-tidyCode Analysis defaults to the respective tool as dictated by your platform toolset and compiler: Microsoft Code Analysis if using MSVC (“Visual Studio 2019”) and clang-tidy if using LLVM/clang-cl.

For more information about using Clang/LLVM as a compiler in your project, see our past blog posts on Clang/LLVM for MSBuild projects and for CMake projects. With the introduction of native support for clang-tidy, Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4 Preview 1 provides a powerful tool for improving the quality of your C++ code.

Visual studio code analysis tools