cppcheck-misra Extension

A VS Code extension that runs cppcheck with MISRA C 2012 compliance checking on C/C++ files. Automatically checks code for MISRA violations when saving files and provides visual feedback in the editor.

Features

• Automatic checking: Runs cppcheck MISRA analysis automatically when saving C/C++ files
• Visual diagnostics: Displays MISRA violations as errors, warnings, or informational messages based on MISRA compliance levels
• Manual execution: Can be triggered manually via command palette
• Configurable: Customize cppcheck path and enable/disable auto-checking
• Performance optimized: Parallel processing for faster analysis
• Reduced noise: Automatic suppression of common false positives

Supported MISRA Compliance Levels

• Mandatory violations → Error (red underline)
• Required violations → Warning (yellow underline)
• Advisory violations → Information (blue/gray underline)

Requirements

• cppcheck must be installed and available in your system PATH
• Alternatively, you can specify the full path to cppcheck in the extension settings

To install cppcheck:

• Windows: Download from cppcheck website or use package managers like chocolatey
• macOS: brew install cppcheck
• Linux: sudo apt-get install cppcheck (Ubuntu/Debian) or use your distribution's package manager

Extension Settings

This extension contributes the following settings:

• cppcheck-misra.cppcheckPath: Path to cppcheck executable (default: "cppcheck")
• cppcheck-misra.enableOnSave: Enable/disable automatic checking on file save (default: true)
• cppcheck-misra.std: C language standard passed to cppcheck (options: c89, c99, c11, default: "c99")
• cppcheck-misra.severityMapping.mandatory: Diagnostic severity for MISRA Mandatory violations (options: error, warning, information, hint, default: "error")
• cppcheck-misra.severityMapping.required: Diagnostic severity for MISRA Required violations (options: error, warning, information, hint, default: "warning")
• cppcheck-misra.severityMapping.advisory: Diagnostic severity for MISRA Advisory violations (options: error, warning, information, hint, default: "information")

Usage

Automatic Checking

1. Open a C or C++ file
2. Save the file (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S)
3. The extension will automatically run cppcheck MISRA analysis
4. Violations will be displayed as editor diagnostics with appropriate severity levels

Manual Execution

1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Type "Cppcheck MISRA: Run on current file"
3. Select the command to run cppcheck on the current file

Known Issues

• The extension requires cppcheck to be installed separately
• File must be saved to disk before checking (unsaved changes are not analyzed)
• Currently only supports single file analysis

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release of cppcheck-misra extension:

• Automatic MISRA C 2012 checking on file save
• Manual execution via command palette
• Configurable cppcheck path and auto-check behavior
• Visual diagnostics with MISRA compliance level-based severity

Enjoy using cppcheck-misra!