How can I automatically convert Visual Studio .coverage files to XML or Cobertura format for use in CI pipelines?

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How can I automatically convert Visual Studio .coverage files to XML or Cobertura format for use in CI pipelines?

Fatma-3378 20

Hi,

I’m working on C++ projects with Visual Studio Enterprise and I can generate .coverage files for code coverage. However, I need to automatically convert these .coverage files to XML (preferably Cobertura) or HTML formats in my CI/CD pipeline, so that I can publish and visualize coverage results.

The CodeCoverage.exe tool is deprecated and doesn’t work reliably anymore, and the new tools like Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe or dotnet-coverage don’t support converting .coverage files to XML or Cobertura. I know I can export XML manually from the Visual Studio GUI, but that’s not suitable for automation.

Is there any supported Microsoft tool or recommended way to do this conversion automatically in a pipeline? Or is there any other way to integrate code coverage into a CI/CD pipeline for Github action?

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Answer 1

Adiba Khan 1,290 Microsoft External Staff

Microsoft’s newer tools (dotnet-coverage, Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console) don’t support direct .coverage -> XML/ Cobertura conversion. The old CodeCoverage.exe is deprecated, so automation requires third-party tools or an intermediate step.

Options:

1. Use ReportGenerator (recommended)

· ReportGenerator supports .coverage files directly and can export to Cobertura, XML and HTML.

· Install via NuGet or as a .NET global tools:

                    Dotnet tool install –g dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool

· Example pipeline step:

                    Reportgenerator -reports:coverage.coverage -targetdir:coverage-report -reporttypes:Cobertura

· This will generate coverture.xml suitable for GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, Jenkins etc.

2. Covert .coverage to .coveragexml with visual studio test platform( vstest.console.exe)

· Run tests with coverage enabled and export XML:

                       Vstest.console.exe MyTests.dll /EnableCodeCoverage /Logger:trx

· Then use ReportGenerator to produce Cobertura/HTML reports from the .coveragexml.

3. Switch to coverlet for .NET (if possible)

· For c# /.NET core projects, coverlet.collector integrates directly with dotnet test and outputs Covertura/LCOV/JSON without conversion:

                         Dotnet test /p:CollectCoverage=true /p:CoverletOutputForms- cobertura.

Reference links:

· GitHub - danielpalme/ReportGenerator: ReportGenerator converts coverage reports generated by coverlet, OpenCover, dotCover, Visual Studio, NCover, Cobertura, JaCoCo, Clover, gcov or lcov into human readable reports in various formats.

· GitHub - coverlet-coverage/coverlet: Cross platform code coverage for .NET

Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-09-29T11:42:34.69+00:00

"Hope you're doing well. We're following up on the ticket. Please let us know before 6 October whether the issue persists or has been resolved, after that we'll close this thread and If the issue has been resolved, kindly mark the response as answered."
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-02T10:08:38.77+00:00

"Hope you're doing well. We're following up on the ticket. Please let us know before 6 October whether the issue persists or has been resolved, after that we'll close this thread and If the issue has been resolved, kindly mark the response as answered."
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-06T07:30:33.9366667+00:00

We haven’t received any further updates or follow-up on this case, so we’ll proceed with closing it at this time. If you require additional assistance or have new information to share, please feel free to raise new thread, we’re happy to support you further needed.
Fatma-3378 20 Reputation points

2025-10-14T11:15:38.52+00:00

I tried the third-party tools you suggested for converting Visual Studio's .coverage files into HTML reports. When attempting to use them, the tools themselves indicated that the .coverage files first need to be converted to XML format using CodeCoverage.exe before they can be processed. The log message is that "It seems that the report file .coverage' is a binary format generated by a Visual Studio code coverage tool. Please convert to XML format with 'CodeCoverage.exe". Since CodeCoverage.exe is deprecated, is there any other tool I can use for this conversion purpose?
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-15T09:11:03.8166667+00:00
Thanks for reaching out. Since Code Coverage is deprecated, and its replacement, Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe (or dotnetcoverage) does not support the .coverage -> Cobertura path, we need to focus on using the modern, supported Microsoft tools to complete that first conversion step.

Recommended solution:

Two-step Conversion Pipeline

The modern Microsoft tool to replace CodeCoverage.exe for analysis/conversion is Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe. While it doesn’t output Cobertura directly. It can convert the binary . coverage file into a visual studio XML format (.coveragexml or just .xml), which ReportGeneartor can then easily use.

This two-step process is the most reliable way to bridge the gap in an automated CI/CD pipeline for C++ projects.

Step-1: Convert the Binary .coverage to an XML Format

Use the modern, supported Microsoft tool, Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe, to perform the conversion. This tool is often available on build agents that have visual studio installed, or it can be obtained via the Microsoft.CodeCoverage Nuget package.

In you CI pipeline, add a step that executes this command after your tests have run:

#This command replaces the deprecated CodeCoverage.exe analyze command # The output file MUST have an XML extension, and often works best with .coveragexml Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe Merge -f xml -o merged.coverage.xml /path/tp/TestResults/**/coverage.coverage

Key Notes on the Command:

·         Merge: This command is used to combine and analyze coverage data. When you only provide one .coverage file, it effectively performs the analysis and conversion.

·         -f xml: This explicitly tells the tool to output the result in a Visual Studio XML format.

·         -o merged_coverage.xml: Specifies the output file name and path.

Step 2: Convert the XML to Cobertura XML using ReportGenerator

Once you have the merged_coverage.xml file, you can then use ReportGenerator (the recommended third-party tool) to convert the XML format into the standardized Cobertura XML format required for GitHub Actions:

First, ensure ReportGenerator is installed:

Dotnet tool install -g dotnet-reportgenerator-globaltool Next, perform the final conversion: Reportgenerator -reports:merged_coverage.xml -targetdir:coverage-report -reporttypes:Cobertura

The resulting file, located at coverage-report/cobertura.xml, is now in the format suitable for publishing via GitHub Actions or any other CI/CD platform.

Summary Pipeline Steps

1.      Run Tests: Execute C++ unit tests to produce the binary .coverage file.

2.      Convert to XML: Use Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console.exe merge -f xml … to get merged_coverage.xml.

3.      Convert to Cobertura: Use reportgenerator -reports:merged_coverage.xml -reporttypes:Cobertura to get Cobertura.xml.

4.      Publish: Use a GitHub Action (like codecov/codecov-action) to publish the Cobertura.xml.

This updated approach avoids the deprecated CodeCoverage.exe entirely and utilizes the correct combination of current Microsoft tools for the initial conversion, ensuring a robust and future-proof pipeline. Please try these specific commands and let us know if you encounter any further issues!
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-20T12:05:29.1966667+00:00

"Hope you're doing well. We're following up on the ticket. Please let us know before 24 October whether the issue persists or has been resolved, after that we'll close this thread and If the issue has been resolved, kindly mark the response as answered."
Varsha Dundigalla(INFOSYS LIMITED) 3,400 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-22T11:51:46.13+00:00

"Hope you're doing well. We're following up on the ticket. Please let us know before 24 October whether the issue persists or has been resolved, after that we'll close this thread and If the issue has been resolved, kindly mark the response as answered."
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-24T11:23:13.7633333+00:00

We haven’t received any further updates or follow-up on this case, so we’ll proceed with closing it at this time. If you require additional assistance or have new information to share, please feel free to raise new thread, we’re happy to support you further needed.
Fatma-3378 20 Reputation points

2025-10-24T11:30:25.9733333+00:00

Thank you for your support that helped me for my issue.
Adiba Khan 1,290 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-10-27T06:23:07.5366667+00:00

Thank you for your response.

I truly appreciate that you’ve taken the time to understand the issue thoroughly. It means a lot.

As a Q&A forum moderator, I kindly ask if you feel the answer has addressed your concern please consider accepting the answer it as the confirmed information. Doing so helps the system recognize that the topic has been confirmed, and it provides a valuable reference for other users who may encounter similar questions in the future. It also contributes to building a stronger community and helps increase your reputation score on the platform.

Thank you again for your engagement and support!

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How can I automatically convert Visual Studio .coverage files to XML or Cobertura format for use in CI pipelines?

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