Understanding Code Analysis

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 81 views

Introduction

Visual Studio's Code Analysis is a powerful tool that helps developers identify and fix coding errors, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues in their code. While it's easy to run Code Analysis within the Visual Studio IDE, it's often more convenient to run it from the command line, especially when working with large solutions or automating the process. In this article, we'll show you how to run Visual Studio's Code Analysis on the command line exactly like in the IDE.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the command line, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

Visual Studio 17.12.4 Enterprise: You need to have Visual Studio 17.12.4 Enterprise installed on your machine. This version includes the Code Analysis tool.
C# or C++ project: You need to have a C# or C++ project in your Visual Studio solution. Code Analysis is not supported for other languages.
.NET Core SDK: You need to have the .NET Core SDK installed on your machine. This is required for running Code Analysis from the command line.

Understanding Code Analysis

Before we proceed, let's understand what Code Analysis does. Code Analysis is a set of rules that check your code for errors, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues. It's based on the Roslyn compiler, which is the same compiler used by Visual Studio. When you run Code Analysis, it analyzes your code and reports any issues it finds.

Running Code Analysis from the Command Line

To run Code Analysis from the command line, you need to use the dotnet command. Here's the basic syntax:

dotnet codeanalysis <options> <project>

Let's break down the options:

: These are the options you can pass to the dotnet codeanalysis command. We'll cover these in more detail later.
: This is the project you want to analyze. You can specify the project file (e.g., MyProject.csproj) or the project name (e.g., MyProject).

Options

Here are the options you can pass to the dotnet codeanalysis command:

--help: Displays the help message.
--version: Displays the version of Code Analysis.
--project: Specifies the project to analyze.
--output: Specifies the output file for the analysis results.
--rules: Specifies the rules to apply during analysis.
--severity: Specifies the severity level for the analysis results.

Example 1: Running Code Analysis on a Single Project

Let's say you have a C# project called MyProject.csproj and you want to run Code Analysis on it. Here's the command:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj

This will run Code Analysis on the MyProject.csproj project and display the analysis results in the console.

Example 2: Running Code Analysis on Multiple Projects

Let's say you have a Visual Studio solution with multiple projects and you want to run Code Analysis on all of them. Here's the command:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject1.csproj --project MyProject2.csproj

This will run Code Analysis on both MyProject1.csproj and MyProject2.csproj projects and display the analysis results in the console.

Example 3: Running Code Analysis with Custom Rules

Let's say you want to run Code Analysis with custom rules. Here's the command:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --rules CustomRule1,CustomRule2

This will run Code Analysis on the MyProject.csproj project with the custom rules CustomRule1 and CustomRule2.

Example 4: Running Code Analysis with Output File

Let's say you want to run Code Analysis with an output file. Here's the command:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --output analysis.xml

This will run Code Analysis on the MyProject.csproj project and save the analysis results to an XML file called analysis.xml.

Conclusion

In this article, we showed you how to run Visual Studio's Code Analysis on the command line exactly like in the IDE. We covered the prerequisites, understanding Code Analysis, and running Code Analysis from the command line. We also provided examples of running Code Analysis on a single project, multiple projects, with custom rules, and with an output file. With this knowledge, you can automate Code Analysis and make your development process more efficient.

Additional Resources

Visual Studio Code Analysis documentation: This is the official documentation for Code Analysis in Visual Studio.
.NET Core SDK documentation: This is the official documentation for the .NET Core SDK.
Roslyn compiler documentation: This is the official documentation for the Roslyn compiler.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is Code Analysis? A: Code Analysis is a set of rules that check your code for errors, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues.
Q: How do I run Code Analysis from the command line? A: You can run Code Analysis from the command line using the dotnet codeanalysis command.
Q: What options can I pass to the dotnet codeanalysis command? A: You can pass options such as --help, --version, --project, --output, --rules, and --severity.
Q: How do I specify custom rules for Code Analysis? A: You can specify custom rules by passing the --rules option with the custom rule names.
Q: How do I save the analysis results to an output file? A: You can save the analysis results to an output file by passing the --output option with the file name.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Running Visual Studio's Code Analysis on the Command Line =============================================================================================

Q: What is Code Analysis?

A: Code Analysis is a set of rules that check your code for errors, security vulnerabilities, and performance issues. It's based on the Roslyn compiler, which is the same compiler used by Visual Studio.

Q: How do I run Code Analysis from the command line?

A: You can run Code Analysis from the command line using the dotnet codeanalysis command. The basic syntax is:

dotnet codeanalysis <options> <project>

Q: What options can I pass to the `dotnet codeanalysis` command?

A: You can pass options such as:

--help: Displays the help message.
--version: Displays the version of Code Analysis.
--project: Specifies the project to analyze.
--output: Specifies the output file for the analysis results.
--rules: Specifies the rules to apply during analysis.
--severity: Specifies the severity level for the analysis results.

Q: How do I specify custom rules for Code Analysis?

A: You can specify custom rules by passing the --rules option with the custom rule names. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --rules CustomRule1,CustomRule2

Q: How do I save the analysis results to an output file?

A: You can save the analysis results to an output file by passing the --output option with the file name. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --output analysis.xml

Q: Can I run Code Analysis on multiple projects at once?

A: Yes, you can run Code Analysis on multiple projects at once by passing multiple project names to the --project option. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject1.csproj --project MyProject2.csproj

Q: How do I specify the severity level for the analysis results?

A: You can specify the severity level for the analysis results by passing the --severity option with the desired severity level. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --severity Error

Q: Can I run Code Analysis on a solution file instead of a project file?

A: Yes, you can run Code Analysis on a solution file instead of a project file by passing the solution file name to the --project option. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MySolution.sln

Q: How do I get help with the `dotnet codeanalysis` command?

A: You can get help with the dotnet codeanalysis command by passing the --help option. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --help

Q: What are the system requirements for running Code Analysis?

A: The system requirements for running Code Analysis are:

.NET Core SDK 3.1 or later
Visual Studio 2019 or later
Windows 10 or later

Q: Can I run Code Analysis on a project that uses a different framework?

A: Yes, you can run Code Analysis on a project that uses a different framework by passing the --framework option with the desired framework name. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --framework netcoreapp3.1

Q: How do I troubleshoot issues with Code Analysis?

A: You can troubleshoot issues with Code Analysis by checking the following:

The project file is correct and up-to-date
The .NET Core SDK is installed and up-to-date
The Visual Studio version is compatible with the .NET Core SDK
The project uses a supported framework
The analysis results are correct and accurate

Q: Can I customize the Code Analysis rules?

A: Yes, you can customize the Code Analysis rules by creating a custom rules file and passing it to the --rules option. For example:

dotnet codeanalysis --project MyProject.csproj --rules CustomRules.xml

Q: How do I get started with Code Analysis?

A: To get started with Code Analysis, follow these steps:

Install the .NET Core SDK
Install Visual Studio
Create a new project or open an existing one
Run Code Analysis using the dotnet codeanalysis command
Review the analysis results and fix any issues found