With software development becoming increasingly complex, ensuring code quality and security is essential.

In languages such as C and C++, which offer high performance but also require special care due to manual memory management and the possibility of subtle errors, the use of static analyzers has become an indispensable practice.

These tools help identify bugs, vulnerabilities and style issues even before the program is executed, saving time, effort and, most importantly, avoiding critical failures in production.

In this article, we present a list of 10 of the best static analyzers available for C and C++, highlighting their main features, advantages and usage scenarios. Whether you are an experienced developer or someone who is just starting out, knowing these tools will be an important differentiator to improve the quality of your code and reduce development risks.

1. CppCheck

• Description: A free and popular static analyzer, focused on identifying specific C++ errors and bad programming practices.
• Highlights:
• Detects memory leaks, dead code and other common problems.
• Support for integration with IDEs such as Visual Studio and CLion.
• Extensible via custom configurations.

Address: https://github.com/danmar/cppcheck

2. IKOS (Inferencing Kernel for Open Static Analysis)

• Description: Static analysis tool developed by NASA to find bugs in C/C++ code using abstract interpretation. - Highlights:
• Focus on security and mathematical precision analysis.
• Detects possible division by zero problems, buffer overflows, among others.
• Open-source tool.

Address: https://github.com/NASA-SW-VnV/ikos

3. Clang Static Analyzer

• Description: An analyzer integrated into the Clang compiler to find problems at compile time.
• Highlights:
• Easy to use with the scan-build command.
• Detects problems such as memory leaks and out-of-bounds accesses.
• Good integration with projects using LLVM/Clang.

Address: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ClangStaticAnalyzer.html

4. SonarQube

• Description: A widely used tool for code quality and security analysis, with support for C++.
• Highlights:
• Identifies vulnerabilities, code duplication, and complexity.
• Supports continuous analysis via CI/CD integration.
• Offers both a free and commercial version.

Address: https://www.sonarsource.com/products/sonarqube/

5. PVS-Studio

• Description: A commercial static analyzer that offers advanced support for C++ with a focus on quality and security.
• Highlights:
• Detects hundreds of error classes, including portability and performance issues.
• Integration with multiple IDEs (Visual Studio, CLion, etc.).
• Detailed reports with error explanations.

Address: https://pvs-studio.com/en/pvs-studio/

6. Coverity Scan

• Description: A tool widely used in commercial and open-source projects to detect bugs and vulnerabilities.
• Highlights:
• Detects problems such as memory leaks and buffer overflows.
• Supports continuous analysis.
• Free for open-source projects.

Address: https://scan.coverity.com/

7. Flawfinder

• Description: Focused on security, it helps identify vulnerabilities in C/C++ code.
• Highlights:
• Lightweight and easy to use tool.
• Detects potentially insecure code patterns.
• Simple and clear reports.

Address: https://github.com/david-a-wheeler/flawfinder

8. OCLint

• Description: A static analyzer focused on detecting quality and style issues in code.
• Highlights:
• Detects redundant code, antipatterns and complexity issues.
• Good integration with tools like CMake.
• Open source tool.

Address: https://github.com/oclint/oclint

9. Infer

• Description: Developed by Facebook, it is a static analyzer that finds problems before execution.
• Highlights:
• Ideal for detecting problems at compile time, such as race conditions and incorrect memory usage.
• Integration with CI/CD.
• Support for multiple languages, including C++.

Address: https://fbinfer.com/

10. EsLint (with C++-specific plugins)

• Description: Although originally for JavaScript, with plugins like eslint-plugin-cpp, it is possible to use it to check the style and quality of C++ code.
• Highlights:
• Customizable and extensible checking.
• Good integration with modern editors.
• Useful for style and readability analysis.

Address: https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/cpp/ide/cpp-linter-overview?view=msvc-170

Comparison and Choice

• Free and popular: CppCheck, IKOS, Clang Static Analyzer.
• Commercial and advanced: PVS-Studio, Coverity Scan.
• Security-focused: Flawfinder, IKOS.
• Integrated into overall quality: SonarQube, OCLint.

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Marcos Oliveira

Software developer

https://github.com/terroo