Run code inspections from the command line

Last modified: 23 May 2022

CLion runs code inspections to find and highlight syntax errors, dead code, possible bugs, bad coding style, and other problems. You can also run all the configured inspections for a specific project from the command line and store the results as an XML, JSON, or plain text file with a report.

The command-line inspector launches an instance of CLion in the background where it runs the inspections. It will not work if another instance of CLion is already running. In this case, you can use inspections in the running instance. Use the command-line inspector for automated regular code analysis of large projects with many contributors.

You can find the executable for running CLion in the installation directory under bin. To use this executable as the command-line launcher, add it to your system PATH as described in Command-line interface.

Syntax
clion64.exe inspect <project> <inspection-profile> <output> [<options>]
Example

Inspect the C:\MyProject\src directory of the C:\MyProject project using the C:\MyProject\.idea\inspectionProfiles\MyProfile.xml profile with maximum verbosity, and save results to an XML file under C:\MyProject\InspectionResults:

>
clion64.exe inspect C:\MyProject C:\MyProject\.idea\inspectionProfiles\MyProfile.xml C:\MyProject\InspectionResults -v2 -d C:\MyProject\src