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[clang-tidy][docs] Add documentation for Clang-Tidy Automation (#153166)
Resolves #90772 --------- Co-authored-by: Baranov Victor <[email protected]>
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clang-tools-extra/docs/clang-tidy/index.rst

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@@ -343,6 +343,107 @@ An overview of all the command-line options:
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some-check.SomeOption: 'some value'
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...
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Clang-Tidy Automation
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=====================
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:program:`clang-tidy` can analyze multiple source files by specifying them on
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the command line. For larger projects, automation scripts provide additional
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functionality like parallel execution and integration with version control
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systems.
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Running Clang-Tidy in Parallel
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-------------------------------
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:program:`clang-tidy` can process multiple files sequentially, but for projects
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with many source files, the :program:`run-clang-tidy.py` script provides
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parallel execution to significantly reduce analysis time. This script is
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included with clang-tidy and runs :program:`clang-tidy` over all files in a
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compilation database or a specified path concurrently.
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The script requires a compilation database (``compile_commands.json``) which
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can be generated by build systems like CMake (using
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``-DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON``) or by tools like `Bear`_.
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The script supports most of the same options as :program:`clang-tidy` itself,
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including ``-checks=``, ``-fix``, ``-header-filter=``, and configuration
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options. Run ``run-clang-tidy.py --help`` for a complete list of available
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options.
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Example invocations:
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.. code-block:: console
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# Run clang-tidy on all files in the compilation database in parallel
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$ run-clang-tidy.py -p=build/
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# Run with specific checks and apply fixes
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$ run-clang-tidy.py -p=build/ -fix -checks=-*,readability-*
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# Run on specific files/directories with header filtering
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$ run-clang-tidy.py -p=build/ -header-filter=src/ src/
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# Run with parallel execution (uses all CPU cores by default)
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$ run-clang-tidy.py -p=build/ -j 4
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Running Clang-Tidy on Diff
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---------------------------
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The :program:`clang-tidy-diff.py` script allows you to run
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:program:`clang-tidy` on the lines that have been modified in your working
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directory or in a specific diff. Importantly, :program:`clang-tidy-diff.py` only reports
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diagnostics for changed lines; :program:`clang-tidy` still analyzes the entire
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file and filters out unchanged lines after analysis, so this does not improve
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performance. This is particularly useful for code reviews and continuous
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integration, as it focuses analysis on the changed code rather than the entire
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codebase.
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The script can work with various diff sources:
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* Git working directory changes
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* Output from ``git diff``
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* Output from ``svn diff``
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* Patch files
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Example invocations:
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.. code-block:: console
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# Run clang-tidy on all changes in the working directory
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$ git diff -U0 --no-color HEAD^ | clang-tidy-diff.py -p1
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# Run with specific checks and apply fixes
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$ git diff -U0 --no-color HEAD^ | clang-tidy-diff.py -p1 -fix \
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-checks=-*,readability-*
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# Run on staged changes
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$ git diff -U0 --no-color --cached | clang-tidy-diff.py -p1
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# Run on changes between two commits
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$ git diff -U0 --no-color HEAD~2 HEAD | clang-tidy-diff.py -p1
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# Run on a patch file
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$ clang-tidy-diff.py -p1 < changes.patch
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The ``-p1`` option tells the script to strip one level of path prefix from
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the diff, which is typically needed for Git diffs. The script supports most of
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the same options as :program:`clang-tidy` itself, including ``-checks=``,
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``-fix``, ``-header-filter=``, and configuration options.
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While :program:`clang-tidy-diff.py` is useful for focusing on recent changes,
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relying solely on it may lead to incomplete analysis. Since the script only
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reports warnings from the modified lines, it may miss issues that are caused
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by the changes but manifest elsewhere in the code. For example, changes that
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only add lines to a function may cause it to violate size limits (e.g.,
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`readability-function-size <checks/readability/function-size.html>`_), but the
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diagnostic will be reported at the function declaration, which may not be in
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the diff and thus filtered out. Modifications to header files may also affect
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many implementation files, but only warnings in the modified header lines will
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be reported.
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For comprehensive analysis, especially before merging significant changes,
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consider running :program:`clang-tidy` on the entire affected files or the
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whole project using :program:`run-clang-tidy.py`.
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.. _clang-tidy-nolint:
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Suppressing Undesired Diagnostics
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:program:`clang-tidy` will generate a ``clang-tidy-nolint`` error diagnostic if
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any ``NOLINTBEGIN``/``NOLINTEND`` comment violates these requirements.
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.. _Bear: https://github.com/rizsotto/Bear
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.. _LibTooling: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/LibTooling.html
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.. _How To Setup Tooling For LLVM: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/HowToSetupToolingForLLVM.html

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