This action enables you to run code analysis with Parasoft C/C++test Standard and review analysis results directly on GitHub. To run code analysis with C/C++test Professional, this action must be customized with additional options; see Customizing the Action to Run C/C++test Professional.
Parasoft C/C++test uses a comprehensive set of analysis techniques, including pattern-based static analysis, dataflow analysis, metrics, code coverage, unit testing, and more, to help you verify code quality and ensure compliance with industry standards, such as MISRA, AUTOSAR, and CERT.
- Request a free trial to receive access to Parasoft C/C++test's features and capabilities.
- See the user guide for information about Parasoft C/C++test's capabilities and usage.
Please visit the official Parasoft website for more information about Parasoft C/C++test and other Parasoft products.
- Quick start
- Example Workflows
- Configuring Analysis with C/C++test
- Action Parameters
- Customizing the Action to Run C/C++test Professional
To analyze your code with Parasoft C/C++test and review analysis results on GitHub, you need to customize your GitHub workflow to include:
- Integration with your C/C++ build to determine the scope of analysis.
- The action to run C/C++test.
- The action to upload the C/C++test analysis report in the SARIF format to GitHub.
- The action to upload the C/C++test analysis reports in other formats (XML, HTML, etc.) to GitHub as workflow artifacts.
This action requires Parasoft C/C++test with a valid Parasoft license.
We recommend that you run Parasoft C/C++test on a self-hosted rather than GitHub-hosted runner.
Add the Run C/C++test action to your workflow to launch code analysis with Parasoft C/C++test.
Depending on the project type and the build system you are using (Make, CMake, etc.), you may need to adjust the workflow to collect the required input data for C/C++test. See the C/C++test User Guide for details.
# Runs code analysis with C/C++test.
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
input: build/compile_commands.json
testConfig: 'builtin://MISRA C 2012'
compilerConfig: 'clang_10_0'By default, the Run C/C++test action generates analysis reports in the SARIF, XML, and HTML format (if you are using a C/C++test version earlier than 2021.1, see Generating SARIF Reports with C/C++test 2020.2 or Earlier).
When you upload the SARIF report to GitHub, the results will be presented as GitHub code scanning alerts. This allows you to review the results of code analysis with Parasoft C/C++test directly on GitHub as part of your project.
To upload the SARIF report to GitHub, modify your workflow by adding the upload-sarif action.
# Uploads analysis results in the SARIF format, so that they are displayed as GitHub code scanning alerts.
- name: Upload results (SARIF)
if: always()
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
with:
sarif_file: reports/report.sarifTo upload reports in other formats, modify your workflow by adding the upload-artifact action.
# Uploads an archive that includes all report files (.xml, .html, .sarif).
- name: Archive reports
if: always()
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: CpptestReports
path: reports/*.*The following examples show simple workflows made up of one job "Analyze project with C/C++test" for Make and CMake-based projects. The examples assume that C/C++test is run on a self-hosted runner and the path to the cpptestcli executable is available on $PATH.
# This is a basic workflow to help you get started with the Run C/C++test action for a CMake-based project.
name: C/C++test with CMake
on:
# Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events but only for the master (main) branch.
push:
branches: [ master, main ]
pull_request:
branches: [ master, main ]
# Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab.
workflow_dispatch:
# A workflow run is made up of one or more jobs that can run sequentially or in parallel.
jobs:
run-cpptest-make:
name: Analyze project with C/C++test
# Specifies required permissions for upload-sarif action
permissions:
# required for all workflows
security-events: write
# only required for workflows in private repositories
actions: read
contents: read
# Specifies the type of runner that the job will run on.
runs-on: self-hosted
# Steps represent a sequence of tasks that will be executed as part of the job.
steps:
# Checks out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so that your job can access it.
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v4
# Configures your CMake project. Be sure the compile_commands.json file is created.
- name: Configure project
run: cmake -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=1 -S . -B build
# Builds your CMake project. (This step is optional, as it is not required for code analysis).
- name: Build project (optional)
run: cmake --build build
# Runs code analysis with C/C++test.
- name: Run C/C++test
# Use the 'run-cpptest-action' GitHub action.
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
# Optional parameters for 'run-cpptest-action'.
with:
# For CMake-based projects, use a compile_commands.json file as the input for analysis.
input: build/compile_commands.json
# Uncomment if you are using C/C++test 2020.2 to generate a SARIF report:
# reportFormat: xml,html,custom
# additionalParams: '-property report.custom.extension=sarif -property report.custom.xsl.file=${PARASOFT_SARIF_XSL}'
# Uploads analysis results in the SARIF format, so that they are displayed as GitHub code scanning alerts.
- name: Upload results (SARIF)
if: always()
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
with:
sarif_file: reports/report.sarif
# Uploads an archive that includes all report files (.xml, .html, .sarif).
- name: Archive reports
if: always()
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: CpptestReports
path: reports/*.*
# This is a basic workflow to help you get started with the Run C/C++test action for Make-based project.
name: C/C++test with Make
on:
# Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events but only for the master (main) branch.
push:
branches: [ master, main ]
pull_request:
branches: [ master, main ]
# Allows you to run this workflow manually from the Actions tab.
workflow_dispatch:
# A workflow run is made up of one or more jobs that can run sequentially or in parallel.
jobs:
run-cpptest-make:
name: Analyze project with C/C++test
# Specifies the type of runner that the job will run on.
runs-on: self-hosted
# Specifies required permissions for upload-sarif action
permissions:
# required for all workflows
security-events: write
# only required for workflows in private repositories
actions: read
contents: read
# Steps represent a sequence of tasks that will be executed as part of the job.
steps:
# Checks out your repository under $GITHUB_WORKSPACE, so that your job can access it.
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v4
# Builds your Make project using 'cpptesttrace' to collect input data for code analysis.
# Be sure 'cpptesttrace' is available on $PATH.
- name: Build project
run: cpptesttrace make clean all
# Runs code analysis with C/C++test.
- name: Run C/C++test
# Use the 'run-cpptest-action' GitHub action.
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
# Uncomment if you are using C/C++test 2020.2 to generate a SARIF report:
# with:
# reportFormat: xml,html,custom
# additionalParams: '-property report.custom.extension=sarif -property report.custom.xsl.file=${PARASOFT_SARIF_XSL}'
# Uploads analysis results in the SARIF format, so that they are displayed as GitHub code scanning alerts.
- name: Upload results (SARIF)
if: always()
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
with:
sarif_file: reports/report.sarif
# Uploads an archive that includes all report files (.xml, .html, .sarif).
- name: Archive reports
if: always()
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: CpptestReports
path: reports/*.*
You can configure analysis with Parasoft C/C++test in the following ways:
- By customizing the
Run C/C++testaction directly in your GitHub workflow. See Action Parameters for a complete list of available parameters. - By configuring options in Parasoft C/C++test tool. We recommend creating a
cpptestcli.propertiesfile that includes all the configuration options and adding the file to C/C++test's working directory - typically, the root directory of your repository. This allows C/C++test to automatically read all the configuration options from that file. See Parasoft C/C++test User Guide for details.
This section includes practical examples of how the Run C/C++test action can be customized directly in the YAML file of your workflow.
If cpptestcli executable is not on $PATH, you can configure the path to the installation directory of Parasoft C/C++test, by configuring the installDir parameter:
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
installDir: '/opt/parasoft/cpptest'You can configure the input parameter to provide the path to a file that defines the scope of analysis (includes a list of source files and compile commands). This parameter depends on the project type and the build system you are using. See the C/C++test User Guide for details.
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
input: 'build/compile_commands.json'Code analysis with C/C++test is performed by using a test configuration - a set of static analysis rules that enforce best coding practices or compliance guidelines. Parasoft C/C++test ships with a wide range of built-in test configurations.
To specify a test configuration directly in your workflow, add the testConfig parameter to the Run C/C++test action and specify the URL of the test configuration you want to use:
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
testConfig: 'builtin://MISRA C 2012'In order to run analysis, C/C++test needs to be configured for a specific compiler. You need to specify the configuration that matches your compiler with the compilerConfig parameter. See Supported Compilers for information about supported compilers.
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
compilerConfig: 'clang_10_0'Generating reports in the SARIF format is available in C/C++test since version 2021.1. If you are using an earlier C/C++test version, you need to customize the Run C/C++test action to enable generating SARIF reports:
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
reportFormat: xml,html,custom
additionalParams: '-property report.custom.extension=sarif -property report.custom.xsl.file=${PARASOFT_SARIF_XSL}'In GitHub, when a pull request is created, static analysis results generated for the branch to be merged are compared with the results generated for the integration branch. As a result, only new violations are presented, allowing developers to focus on the relevant problems for their code changes. For this baselining to succeed, make sure your static analysis workflow triggers for pull requests. For example:
on:
# Triggers the workflow on push or pull request events but only for the main branch.
pull_request:
branches: [ main ]You can define a branch protection rule for your integration branch that will block pull requests due to new violations or errors. To configure this:
- In the GitHub repository GUI, go to Settings>Branches.
- Make sure your default integration branch is configured. If needed, select the appropriate branch in the Default branch section.
- Define the branch protection rule. In the Branch protection rule section click Add rule. Enable the Require status checks to pass before merging option and specify which steps in the pipeline should block the merge. Type the status check name in the search field to select it (only the status checks run during the last week are listed).
- You can specify that the merge will be blocked if any violations are found as a result of the analysis by selecting the appropriate GitHub Code Scanning tool. If the GitHub Code Scanning tool is not available, you need to run a pull request for the integration branch first.
- You can specify that the merge will be blocked if any defined job is not completed because of errors in its configuration by selecting the job build name. If no jobs are available, you need to run a workflow from the integration branch first. For example, when you execute the default C/C+test pipeline, the 'Analyze project with C/C++test' job will be available and can be used as a status check.
If a pull request is blocked due to failed checks, the administrator can still manually perform the merge using the Merge without waiting for requirements to be met option.
The following inputs are available for this action:
| Input | Description |
|---|---|
installDir |
Installation folder of Parasoft C/C++test. If not specified, the cpptestcli executable must be added to $PATH. |
workingDir |
Working directory for running C/C++test. If not specified, ${{ github.workspace }} will be used. |
compilerConfig |
Identifier of a compiler configuration. Ensure you specify the configuration that matches your compiler. If not specified, the gcc_9-64 configuration will be used. |
testConfig |
Test configuration to be used for code analysis. The default is builtin://Recommended Rules. |
reportDir |
Output folder for reports from code analysis. If not specified, report files will be created in the reports folder. |
reportFormat |
Format of reports from code analysis. The default is xml,html,sarif. |
input |
Input scope for analysis (typically, cpptestscan.bdf or compile_commands.json, depending on the project type and the build system). The default is cpptestscan.bdf. |
additionalParams |
Additional parameters for the cpptestcli executable. |
commandLinePattern |
Command line pattern for running C/C++test. It should only be modified in advanced scenarios. The default is: ${cpptestcli} -compiler "${compilerConfig}" -config "${testConfig}" -property report.format=${reportFormat} -report "${reportDir}" -module . -input "${input}" ${additionalParams} |
This section describes how to customize the Run C/C++test action to run code analysis with Parasoft C/C++test Professional.
Use the commandLinePattern parameter to modify the command line for cpptestcli executable. The command line pattern depends on your project and the setup of the workspace. Example:
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
# C/C++test workspace will be created in '../workspace'.
# C/C++test will create a new project based on the provided .bdf file.
commandLinePattern: '${cpptestcli} -data ../workspace -config "${testConfig}" -report "${reportDir}" -bdf "${input}" ${additionalParams}'Note: The compilerConfig and reportFormat action parameters are not directly applicable to the C/C++test Professional command line.
Create a config.properties file with additional configuration options for C/C++test Professional, such as reporting options, compiler configuration etc. Then pass the configuration file to cpptestcli with the -localsettings config.properties option:
- name: Run C/C++test
uses: parasoft/[email protected]
with:
# C/C++test will use options from 'config.properties'.
additionalParams: '-localsettings config.properties'
commandLinePattern: '${cpptestcli} -data ../workspace -config "${testConfig}" -report "${reportDir}" -bdf "${input}" ${additionalParams}'To enable generating SARIF reports, add the following options to the config.properties file.
In C/C++test Professional 2021.1 or newer:
report.format=sarif
In C/C++test Professional 2020.2 or earlier:
report.format=custom
report.custom.extension=sarif
report.custom.xsl.file=${PARASOFT_SARIF_PRO_XSL}
report.location_details=true