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Use Rule Sets to Specify the C++ Rules to Run

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In Visual Studio, you can create and modify a custom rule set to meet specific project needs associated with code analysis. The default rule sets are stored in %VSINSTALLDIR%\Team Tools\Static Analysis Tools\Rule Sets.

Visual Studio 2017 version 15.7 and later: You can create custom rule sets using any text editor and apply them in command line builds no matter what build system you're using. For more information, see /analyze:ruleset.

To create a custom C++ rule set in Visual Studio, a C/C++ project must be open in the Visual Studio IDE. You then open a standard rule set in the rule set editor and then add or remove specific rules and optionally change the action that occurs when code analysis determines a rule has been violated.

To create a new custom rule set, you save it by using a new file name. The custom rule set is automatically assigned to the project.

To create a custom rule from a single existing rule set

  1. In Solution Explorer, open the shortcut menu for the project and then choose Properties.

  2. In the Property Pages dialog box, select the Configuration Properties > Code Analysis > General property page.

  3. In the Rule Set drop-down list, do one of the following:

    • Choose the rule set that you want to customize.

      - or -

    • Choose <Browse...> to specify an existing rule set that isn't in the list.

  4. Choose Open to display the rules in the rule set editor.

  1. In Solution Explorer, open the shortcut menu for the project and then choose Properties.

  2. In the Property Pages dialog box, select the Configuration Properties > Code Analysis > Microsoft property page.

  3. In the Active Rules drop-down list, do one of the following:

    • Choose the rule set that you want to customize.

      - or -

    • Choose <Browse...> to specify an existing rule set that isn't in the list.

  4. Choose Open to display the rules in the rule set editor.

To modify a rule set in the rule set editor

  • To change the display name of the rule set, on the View menu, choose Properties Window. Enter the display name in the Name box. Notice that the display name can differ from the file name.

  • To add all the rules of the group to a custom rule set, select the check box of the group. To remove all the rules of the group, clear the check box.

  • To add a specific rule to the custom rule set, select the check box of the rule. To remove the rule from the rule set, clear the check box.

  • To change the action taken when a rule is violated in a code analysis, choose the Action field for the rule and then choose one of the following values:

    Warning - generates a warning.

    Error - generates an error.

    Info - generates a message.

    None - disables the rule. This action is the same as removing the rule from the rule set.

To group, filter, or change the fields in the rule set editor by using the rule set editor toolbar

  • To expand the rules in all groups, choose Expand All.

  • To collapse the rules in all groups, choose Collapse All.

  • To change the field that rules are grouped by, choose the field from the Group By list. To display the rules ungrouped, choose <None>.

  • To add or remove fields in rule columns, choose Column Options.

  • To hide rules that don't apply to the current solution, choose Hide rules that do not apply to the current solution.

  • To switch between showing and hiding rules that are assigned the Error action, choose Show rules that can generate Code Analysis errors.

  • To switch between showing and hiding rules that are assigned the Warning action, choose Show rules that can generate Code Analysis warnings.

  • To switch between showing and hiding rules that are assigned the None action, choose Show rules that are not enabled.

  • To add or remove Microsoft default rule sets to the current rule set, choose Add or remove child rule sets.

To create a rule set in a text editor

You can create a custom rule set in a text editor, store it in any location with a .ruleset extension, and apply in with the /analyze:ruleset compiler option.

The following example shows a basic rule set file that you can use as a starting point:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RuleSet Name="New Rule Set" Description="New rules to apply." ToolsVersion="10.0">
  <Rules AnalyzerId="Microsoft.Analyzers.NativeCodeAnalysis" RuleNamespace="Microsoft.Rules.Native">
    <Rule Id="C6001" Action="Warning" />
    <Rule Id="C26494" Action="Warning" />
  </Rules>
</RuleSet>

Ruleset schema

The following ruleset schema describes the XML schema of a ruleset file. The ruleset schema is stored in %VSINSTALLDIR%\Team Tools\Static Analysis Tools\Schemas\RuleSet.xsd. You can use it to author your own rulesets programmatically or to validate whether your custom rulesets adhere to the correct format. For more information, see How to: Create an XML document based on an XSD schema.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">

  <xs:annotation>
    <xs:documentation xml:lang="en">
            Visual Studio Code Analysis Rule Set Schema Definition Language.
            Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
        </xs:documentation>
  </xs:annotation>

  <!-- Every time this file changes, be sure to change the Validate method for the corresponding object in the code -->

  <xs:element name="RuleSet" type="TRuleSet">
  </xs:element>

  <xs:complexType name="TLocalization">
    <xs:all>
      <xs:element name="Name" type="TName" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
      <xs:element name="Description" type="TDescription" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
    </xs:all>
    <xs:attribute name="ResourceAssembly" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
    <xs:attribute name="ResourceBaseName" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TRuleHintPaths">
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element name="Path" type="TNonEmptyString" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" />
    </xs:sequence>
  </xs:complexType>
  
  <xs:complexType name="TName">
    <xs:attribute name="Resource" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TDescription">
    <xs:attribute name="Resource" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TInclude">
    <xs:attribute name="Path" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
    <xs:attribute name="Action" type="TIncludeAction" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TIncludeAll">
    <xs:attribute name="Action" type="TIncludeAllAction" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TRule">
    <xs:attribute name="Id" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
    <xs:attribute name="Action" type="TRuleAction" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TRules">
    <xs:sequence>
      <xs:element name="Rule" type="TRule" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" />
    </xs:sequence>
    <xs:attribute name="AnalyzerId" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
    <xs:attribute name="RuleNamespace" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:complexType name="TRuleSet">
    <xs:sequence minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">
      <xs:element name="Localization" type="TLocalization" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
      <xs:element name="RuleHintPaths" type="TRuleHintPaths" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
      <xs:element name="IncludeAll" type="TIncludeAll" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" />
      <xs:choice minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
        <xs:element name="Include" type="TInclude" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded" />
        <xs:element name="Rules" type="TRules" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">
          <xs:unique name="UniqueRuleName">
            <xs:selector xpath="Rule" />
            <xs:field xpath="@Id" />
          </xs:unique>
        </xs:element>
      </xs:choice>
    </xs:sequence>
    <xs:attribute name="Name" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
    <xs:attribute name="Description" type="xs:string" use="optional" />
    <xs:attribute name="ToolsVersion" type="TNonEmptyString" use="required" />
  </xs:complexType>

  <xs:simpleType name="TRuleAction">
    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
      <xs:enumeration value="Error"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Warning"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Info"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Hidden"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="None"/>
    </xs:restriction>
  </xs:simpleType>

  <xs:simpleType name="TIncludeAction">
    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
      <xs:enumeration value="Error"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Warning"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Info"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Hidden"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="None"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Default"/>
    </xs:restriction>
  </xs:simpleType>

  <xs:simpleType name="TIncludeAllAction">
    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
      <xs:enumeration value="Error"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Warning"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Info"/>
      <xs:enumeration value="Hidden"/>
    </xs:restriction>
  </xs:simpleType>

  <xs:simpleType name="TNonEmptyString">
    <xs:restriction base="xs:string">
      <xs:minLength value="1" />
    </xs:restriction>
  </xs:simpleType>
  
</xs:schema>

Schema element details:

Schema element Description
TLocalization Localization information including name of the ruleset file, description of the ruleset file, name of the resource assembly containing the localized resource, and base name of the localized resource
TRuleHintPaths File paths used as hints to search for ruleset files
TName Name of the current ruleset file
TDescription Description of the current ruleset file
TInclude Path to an included ruleset with rule action
TIncludeAll Rule action for all rules
TRule Rule ID with rule action
TRules Collection of one or more rules
TRuleSet Ruleset file format consisting of localization information, rule hint paths, include all information, include information, rules information, name, description, and tools version information
TRuleAction Enumeration describing a rule action such as an error, warning, info, hidden, or none
TIncludeAction Enumeration describing a rule action such as an error, warning, info, hidden, none, or default
TIncludeAllAction Enumeration describing a rule action such as an error, warning, info, or hidden

To see an example of a ruleset, see To create a rule set in a text editor, or any of the default rulesets stored in %VSINSTALLDIR%\Team Tools\Static Analysis Tools\Rule Sets.