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SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) Logo

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) pros and cons

Vendor: Sonar
4.0 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1
3,601 followers
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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

SonarQube Server enhances software quality by establishing and disseminating best practices throughout the development process.
It integrates seamlessly with continuous integration systems like Jenkins, improving code coverage and overall code health through automated quality gates.
SonarQube Server effectively tracks and manages technical debt, helping organizations identify and remedy vulnerabilities and code smells across multiple programming languages.
The tool supports in-depth code analysis and review, offering detailed documentation and explanations that contribute to educational growth and better coding practices.
SonarQube Server offers customizable dashboards and extensive integration capabilities with other static analysis tools, enhancing visibility and control over project metrics and unit test results.

CONS

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) sometimes provides false positives, indicating issues that are not actual problems.
There is a need for better security features and more accurate vulnerability detection.
SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) lacks sufficient support for additional programming languages and custom rule creation.
Installation and configuration of SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) can be complex and require manual processes.
Documentation needs improvement for clarity and comprehensiveness.
 

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) Pros review quotes

reviewer841284 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 20, 2019
We have the software metrics that SonarQube gives us, which is something we did not have before. This helps us work towards aiming coding standards to empower us to move in the direction of better code quality. SonarQube provides targets and metrics for that.
reviewer841284 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 28, 2022
I like that it's easy to navigate not just in terms of code findings but you can actually see them in the context of your source code because it gives you a copy of your code with the items that it found and highlights them. You can see it directly in your code, so you can easily go back and make the corrections in the code. It basically finds the problems for you and tells you where they are.
RR
Dec 10, 2021
One of the most valuable features of SonarQube is its ability to detect code quality during development. There are rules that define various technologies—Java, C#, Python, everything—and these rules declare the coding standards and code quality. With SonarQube, everything is detectable during the time of development and continuous integration, which is an advantage. SonarQube also has a Quality Gate, where the code should reach 85%. Below that, the code cannot be promoted to a further environment, it should be in a development environment only. So the checks are there, and SonarQube will provide that increase. It also provides suggestions on how the code can be fixed and methods of going about this, without allowing hackers to exploit the code. Another valuable feature is that it is tightly integrated with third-party tools. For example, we can see the SonarQube metrics in Bitbucket, the code repository. Once I raise the full request, the developer, team lead, or even the delivery lead can see the code quality metrics of the deliverable so that they can make a decision. SonarQube will also cover all of the top OWASP vulnerabilities, however it doesn't have penetration testing or hacker testing. We use other tools, like Checkmarx, to do penetration testing from the outside.
Learn what your peers think about SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1407126 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2020
It is a very good tool for analysis despite its limitations.
it_user727500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 29, 2017
Code Convention: Using the tool to implement some sort of coding convention is really useful and ensures that the code is consistent no matter how many contributors.
reviewer1078050 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 11, 2021
My focus is mainly on the DevOps pipeline side of things, and from my perspective, the ease of use and configuration is valuable. It is pretty straightforward to take a deployment pipeline or CI/CD pipeline and integrate SonarQube into it.
HT
Sep 9, 2020
The product has a friendly UI that is easy to use and understand.
reviewer1522716 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 3, 2021
There's plenty of documentation available to users.
GL
Jan 6, 2021
It is an easy tool that you can deploy and configure. After that you can measure the history of your obligation and integrate it with other tools like GitLab or GitHub or Azure DevOps to do quality code analysis.
PD
May 15, 2019
Integrate it into the developers' workbench so that they can bench check their code against what will be done in the server-based audit version.
 

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) Cons review quotes

reviewer841284 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 20, 2019
We've been using the Community Edition, which means that we get to use it at our leisure, and they're kind enough to literally give it to us. However, it takes a fair amount of effort to figure out how to get everything up and running. Since we didn't go with the professional paid version, we're not entitled to support. Of course that could be self-correcting if we were to make the step to buy into this and really use it. Then their technical support would be available to us to make strides for using it better.
reviewer841284 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 28, 2022
The learning curve can be fairly steep at first, but then, it's not an entry-level type of application. It's not like an introduction to C programming. You should know not just C programming and how to make projects but also how to apply its findings to the bigger picture. I've had users who said that they wish it was easier to understand how to configure, but I don't know if that's doable because what it's doing is a very complicated thing. I don't know if it is possible to make a complicated thing trivially simple.
RR
Dec 10, 2021
SonarQube could be improved with more dynamic testing—basically, now, it's a static code analysis scan. For example, when the developer writes the code and does the corresponding unit test, he can cover functional and non-functional. So the SonarQube could be improved by helping to execute unit tests and test dynamically, using various parameters, and to help detect any vulnerabilities. Currently, it'll just give the test case and say whether it passes or fails—it won't give you any other input or dynamic testing. They could use artificial intelligence to build a feature that would help developers identify and fix issues in the early stages, which would help us deliver the product and reduce costs. Another area with room for improvement is in regard to automating things, since the process currently needs to be done manually.
Learn what your peers think about SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1407126 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2020
There are limitations to the free version that limit development options as far as languages.
it_user727500 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 29, 2017
An improvement is with false positives. Sometimes the tool can say there is an issue in your code but, really, you have to do things in a certain way due to external dependencies, and I think it's very hard to indicate this is the case.
reviewer1078050 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 11, 2021
A little bit more emphasis on security and a bit more security scanning features would be nice.
HT
Sep 9, 2020
The documentation is not clear and it needs to be updated.
reviewer1522716 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 3, 2021
There needs to be a shareable reporting piece or something we can click and generate easily.
GL
Jan 6, 2021
In terms of what can be improved, the areas that need more attention in the solution are its architecture and development.
PD
May 15, 2019
We're in the process of figuring out how to automate the workflow for QA audit controls on it. I think that's perhaps an area that we could use some buffing. We're a Kubernetes shop, so there are some things that aren't direct fits, which we're struggling with on the component Docker side. But nothing major.