# cppcheck-opensource/cppcheck

static analysis of C/C++ code

Repository: https://github.com/cppcheck-opensource/cppcheck
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/cppcheck
Homepage: https://cppcheck.sourceforge.io/
Language: C++
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: cppcheck, c-plus-plus, static-analysis, cross-platform, c, cpp
Last push: 2026-08-26T18:07:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 87/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 63, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6391, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 90, "gap_med": 102.0, "n_releases_24m": 7}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 6733, forks 1590 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:48.178028+00:00)

## What it is
Cppcheck is an open-source static analysis tool for C and C++ code that detects bugs, undefined behavior, and dangerous coding constructs with a focus on very few false positives. It is available as both a command line tool and a GUI application, and can analyze code even with non-standard syntax common in embedded projects.

## Use cases
- find bugs in my C/C++ code before compiling
- detect undefined behavior in C++ projects
- static analysis for embedded C code with non-standard syntax
- add a C/C++ linter to my CI pipeline
- check for memory leaks and out-of-bounds errors in C++
- analyze a large C codebase for dangerous coding constructs

## When to choose
- you need a fast, low-false-positive static analyzer for C or C++
- your codebase has non-standard or embedded-specific syntax
- you want a free, cross-platform analyzer with CLI and GUI options
- you want to complement other analyzers like clang-tidy with unique bug detection

## When to avoid
- you need path-sensitive abstract-interpretation analysis with formal soundness guarantees
- you need static analysis for languages other than C/C++
- you want fully automated fixes rather than diagnostics
- you require commercial support and extended functionality out of the box

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: security, developer-tools, testing
- domain: developer-tools, programming-languages, security
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cli
- tags: static-analysis, c, cpp, linter, code-quality, undefined-behavior, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- cppcheck-opensource/cppcheck (main) score 87

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.178028+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:42:48.225485+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/cppcheck-opensource/cppcheck (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:48.178028+00:00, sha ad08309a64c4)
  - homepage: https://cppcheck.sourceforge.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:38:47.388750+00:00, sha 3314954c259b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.