{% data reusables.code-scanning.codeql-cli-version-ghes %}

Before you analyze your code using {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %}, you need to create a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database containing all the data required to run queries on your code. You can create {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases yourself using the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}.

{% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} analysis relies on extracting relational data from your code, and using it to build a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database . {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases contain all of the important information about a codebase, which can be analyzed by executing {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} queries against it.

Before you generate a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database, you need to:

1. Install and set up the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %}. For more information, see " AUTOTITLE ."
2. Check out the code that you want to analyze:
   • For a branch, check out the head of the branch that you want to analyze.
   • For a pull request, check out either the head commit of the pull request, or check out a {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}-generated merge commit of the pull request.
3. Set up the environment for the codebase, making sure that any dependencies are available.
4. For the best results with compiled languages, find the build command, if any, for the codebase. Typically this is available in a configuration file in the CI system.

Once the codebase is ready, you can run codeql database create to create the database. For more information, see " Creating databases for non-compiled languages " and " Creating databases for compiled languages ."

{% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases are created by running the following command from the checkout root of your project:

codeql database create 
<
database
>
 --language=
<
language-identifier
>

You must specify:

• <database> : a path to the new database to be created. This directory will be created when you execute the command?you cannot specify an existing directory.

• --language : the identifier for the language to create a database for. When used with --db-cluster , the option accepts a comma-separated list, or can be specified more than once. {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} supports creating databases for the following languages:

  {% data reusables.code-scanning.codeql-language-identifiers-table %}

  {% data reusables.code-scanning.beta-kotlin-or-swift-support %}

If your codebase has a build command or script that invokes the build process, we recommend that you specify it as well:

   codeql database create 
<
database
>
 --command 
<
build
>
 \
         --language=
<
language-identifier
>

You can specify additional options depending on the location of your source file, if the code needs to be compiled, and if you want to create {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases for more than one language.

You can specify extractor options to customize the behavior of extractors that create {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases. For more information, see " AUTOTITLE ."

For full details of all the options you can use when creating databases, see " AUTOTITLE ."

This example creates a single {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database for the repository checked out at /checkouts/example-repo . It uses the JavaScript extractor to create a hierarchical representation of the JavaScript and TypeScript code in the repository. The resulting database is stored in /codeql-dbs/example-repo .

$ codeql database create /codeql-dbs/example-repo --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}javascript-typescript{% 
else
 %}javascript{% endif %} \
    --source-root /checkouts/example-repo

>
 Initializing database at /codeql-dbs/example-repo.
>
 Running 
command
 [/codeql-home/codeql/javascript/tools/autobuild.cmd]
    
in
 /checkouts/example-repo.
>
 [build-stdout] Single-threaded extraction.
>
 [build-stdout] Extracting
...
>
 Finalizing database at /codeql-dbs/example-repo.
>
 Successfully created database at /codeql-dbs/example-repo.

This example creates two {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} databases for the repository checked out at /checkouts/example-repo-multi . It uses:

• --db-cluster to request analysis of more than one language.
• --language to specify which languages to create databases for.
• --command to tell the tool the build command for the codebase, here make .
• --no-run-unnecessary-builds to tell the tool to skip the build command for languages where it is not needed (like Python).

The resulting databases are stored in python and cpp subdirectories of /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi .

$ codeql database create /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi \
    --db-cluster --language python,{% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}c-cpp{% 
else
 %}cpp{% endif %} \
    --command make --no-run-unnecessary-builds \
    --source-root /checkouts/example-repo-multi
Initializing databases at /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi.
Running build command: [make]
[build-stdout] Calling python3 /codeql-bundle/codeql/python/tools/get_venv_lib.py
[build-stdout] Calling python3 -S /codeql-bundle/codeql/python/tools/python_tracer.py -v -z all -c /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi/python/working/trap_cache -p ERROR: 
'
pip
'
 not installed.
[build-stdout] /usr/local/lib/python3.6/dist-packages -R /checkouts/example-repo-multi
[build-stdout] [INFO] Python version 3.6.9
[build-stdout] [INFO] Python extractor version 5.16
[build-stdout] [INFO] [2] Extracted file /checkouts/example-repo-multi/hello.py 
in
 5ms
[build-stdout] [INFO] Processed 1 modules 
in
 0.15s
[build-stdout] 
<
output from calling 
'
make
'
 to build the C/C++ code
>

Finalizing databases at /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi.
Successfully created databases at /codeql-dbs/example-repo-multi.
$

Errors are reported if there are any problems with the options you have specified. For interpreted languages and when you specify --build-mode none for {% data variables.code-scanning.no_build_support %}, the extraction progress is displayed in the console. For each source file, the console shows if extraction was successful or if it failed. When a compiled language is built, the console will display the output of the build system.

When the database is successfully created, you’ll find a new directory at the path specified in the command. If you used the --db-cluster option to create more than one database, a subdirectory is created for each language. Each {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database directory contains a number of subdirectories, including the relational data (required for analysis) and a source archive?a copy of the source files made at the time the database was created?which is used for displaying analysis results.

The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} includes extractors to create databases for non-compiled languages?specifically, JavaScript (and TypeScript), Python, and Ruby. These extractors are automatically invoked when you specify JavaScript, Python, or Ruby as the --language option when executing database create . When creating databases for these languages you must ensure that all additional dependencies are available.

{% note %}

Note: When you run database create for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and Ruby, you should not specify a --command option. Otherwise this overrides the normal extractor invocation, which will create an empty database. If you create databases for multiple languages and one of them is a compiled language, use the --no-run-unnecessary-builds option to skip the command for the languages that don’t need to be compiled.

{% endnote %}

Creating databases for JavaScript requires no additional dependencies, but if the project includes TypeScript files, Node.js 14 or higher must be installed and available on the PATH as node . In the command line you can specify --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}javascript-typescript{% else %}javascript{% endif %} to extract both JavaScript and TypeScript files:

codeql database create --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}javascript-typescript{% 
else
 %}javascript{% endif %} --source-root 
<
folder-to-extract
>
 <
output-folder
>
/javascript-database

Here, we have specified a --source-root path, which is the location where database creation is executed, but is not necessarily the checkout root of the codebase.

By default, files in node_modules and bower_components directories are not extracted.

When creating databases for Python you must ensure:

• You have Python 3 installed and available to the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} extractor.
• You have the version of Python used by your code installed.
• You have access to the pip packaging management system and can install any packages that the codebase depends on.
• You have installed the virtualenv pip module.

In the command line you must specify --language=python . For example:

codeql database create --language=python 
<
output-folder
>
/python-database

This executes the database create subcommand from the code’s checkout root, generating a new Python database at <output-folder>/python-database .

Creating databases for Ruby requires no additional dependencies. In the command line you must specify --language=ruby . For example:

codeql database create --language=ruby --source-root 
<
folder-to-extract
>
 <
output-folder
>
/ruby-database

Here, we have specified a --source-root path, which is the location where database creation is executed, but is not necessarily the checkout root of the codebase.

{% data reusables.code-scanning.beta-no-build-cli %}

For {% ifversion codeql-no-build %}most{% endif %} compiled languages, {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} needs to invoke the required build system to generate a database, therefore the build method must be available to the CLI. This approach creates databases that include generated code. {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} has two methods for building codebases:

• " Automatic build detection (autobuild) "
• " User-specified build commands

{% ifversion codeql-no-build %} In addition, for {% data variables.code-scanning.no_build_support %}, there is an option to generate a database without building the code. This is particularly useful when you want to enable {% data variables.product.prodname_code_scanning %} for many repositories. For more information, see " CodeQL build modes ." {% endif %}

The {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} includes autobuilders for {% data variables.code-scanning.compiled_languages %} code. {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} autobuilders allow you to build projects for compiled languages without specifying any build commands. When an autobuilder is invoked, {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} examines the source for evidence of a build system and attempts to run the optimal set of commands required to extract a database. For more information, see " AUTOTITLE ."

An autobuilder is invoked automatically when you execute codeql database create for a compiled language if you don’t include a --command option{% ifversion codeql-no-build %} or set --build-mode none {% endif %}. For example, for a C# codebase, you could simply run:

codeql database create --language=csharp 
<
output-folder
>
/csharp-database

If a codebase uses a standard build system, relying on an autobuilder is often the simplest way to create a database. For sources that require non-standard build steps, you may need to explicitly define each step in the command line.

{% note %}

Notes:

• If you are building a Go database, install the Go toolchain (version 1.11 or later) and, if there are dependencies, the appropriate dependency manager (such as dep ).
• The Go autobuilder attempts to automatically detect code written in Go in a repository, and only runs build scripts in an attempt to fetch dependencies. To force {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} to limit extraction to the files compiled by your build script, set the environment variable CODEQL_EXTRACTOR_GO_BUILD_TRACING=on or use the --command option to specify a build command.

{% endnote %}

The following examples are designed to give you an idea of some of the build commands that you can specify for compiled languages.

{% note %}

Note: The --command option accepts a single argument?if you need to use more than one command, specify --command multiple times. If you need to pass subcommands and options, the whole argument needs to be quoted to be interpreted correctly.

{% endnote %}

• C/C++ project built using make :

  codeql database create cpp-database --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}c-cpp{% 
  else
   %}cpp{% endif %} --command=make
  

• C# project built using dotnet build :

  It is a good idea to add /t:rebuild to ensure that all code will be built, or do a prior dotnet clean (code that is not built will not be included in the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database):

  codeql database create csharp-database --language=csharp --command=
  '
  dotnet build /t:rebuild
  '
  

• Go project built using the CODEQL_EXTRACTOR_GO_BUILD_TRACING=on environment variable:

  CODEQL_EXTRACTOR_GO_BUILD_TRACING=on codeql database create go-database --language=go
  

• Go project built using a custom build script:

  codeql database create go-database --language=go --command=
  '
  ./scripts/build.sh
  '
  

• Java project built using Gradle:

  #
   Use `--no-daemon` because a build delegated to an existing daemon cannot be detected by CodeQL.
  
  #
   To ensure isolated builds without caching, add `--no-build-cache` on persistent machines.
  
  codeql database create java-database --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}java-kotlin{% 
  else
   %}java{% endif %} --command=
  '
  gradle --no-daemon clean test
  '
  

• Java project built using Maven:

  codeql database create java-database --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}java-kotlin{% 
  else
   %}java{% endif %} --command=
  '
  mvn clean install
  '
  

• Java project built using Ant:

  codeql database create java-database --language={% ifversion codeql-language-identifiers-311 %}java-kotlin{% 
  else
   %}java{% endif %} --command=
  '
  ant -f build.xml
  '
  

{% ifversion codeql-swift-beta %}

• Swift project built from an Xcode project or workspace. By default, the largest Swift target is built:

  It's a good idea to ensure that the project is in a clean state and that there are no build artefacts available.

  xcodebuild clean -all
  codeql database create -l swift swift-database
  

• Swift project built with swift build :

  codeql database create -l swift -c 
  "
  swift build
  "
   swift-database
  

• Swift project built with xcodebuild :

  codeql database create -l swift -c 
  "
  xcodebuild build -target your-target
  "
   swift-database
  

  You can pass the archive and test options to xcodebuild . However, the standard xcodebuild command is recommended as it should be the fastest, and should be all that {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} requires for a successful scan.

• Swift project built using a custom build script:

  codeql database create -l swift -c 
  "
  ./scripts/build.sh
  "
   swift-database
  

{% endif %}

• Project built using Bazel:

  #
   Navigate to the Bazel workspace.
  
  
  #
   Before building, remove cached objects
  
  #
   and stop all running Bazel server processes.
  
  bazel clean --expunge
  
  #
   Build using the following Bazel flags, to help {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} detect the build:
  
  #
   `--spawn_strategy=local`: build locally, instead of using a distributed build
  
  #
   `--nouse_action_cache`: turn off build caching, which might prevent recompilation of source code
  
  #
   `--noremote_accept_cached`, `--noremote_upload_local_results`: avoid using a remote cache
  
  codeql database create new-database --language=
  <
  language
  >
   \
  --command=
  '
  bazel build --spawn_strategy=local --nouse_action_cache --noremote_accept_cached --noremote_upload_local_results //path/to/package:target
  '
  
  
  #
   After building, stop all running Bazel server processes.
  
  #
   This ensures future build commands start in a clean Bazel server process
  
  #
   without {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} attached.
  
  bazel shutdown
  

• Project built using a custom build script:

  codeql database create new-database --language=
  <
  language
  >
   --command=
  '
  ./scripts/build.sh
  '
  

This command runs a custom script that contains all of the commands required to build the project.

If the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} autobuilders for compiled languages do not work with your CI workflow and you cannot wrap invocations of build commands with codeql database trace-command , you can use indirect build tracing to create a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database. To use indirect build tracing, your CI system must be able to set custom environment variables for each build action.

To create a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database with indirect build tracing, run the following command from the checkout root of your project:

codeql database init ... --begin-tracing 
<
database
>

You must specify:

• <database> : a path to the new database to be created. This directory will be created when you execute the command?you cannot specify an existing directory.
• --begin-tracing : creates scripts that can be used to set up an environment in which build commands will be traced.

You may specify other options for the codeql database init command as normal.

{% note %}

Note: If the build runs on Windows, you must set either --trace-process-level <number> or --trace-process-name <parent process name> so that the option points to a parent CI process that will observe all build steps for the code being analyzed.

{% endnote %}

The codeql database init command will output a message:

Created skeleton 
<
database
>
. This in-progress database is ready to be populated by an extractor. In order to initialise tracing, some environment variables need to be 
set
 in
 the shell your build will run in. A number of scripts to 
do
 this have been created 
in
 <
database
>
/temp/tracingEnvironment. Please run one of these scripts before invoking your build command.

Based on your operating system, we recommend you run: ...

The codeql database init command creates <database>/temp/tracingEnvironment with files that contain environment variables and values that will enable {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} to trace a sequence of build steps. These files are named start-tracing.{json,sh,bat,ps1} . Use one of these files with your CI system’s mechanism for setting environment variables for future steps. You can:

• Read the JSON file, process it, and print out environment variables in the format expected by your CI system. For example, Azure DevOps expects echo "##vso[task.setvariable variable=NAME]VALUE" .
• Or, if your CI system persists the environment, source the appropriate start-tracing script to set the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} variables in the shell environment of the CI system.

Build your code; optionally, unset the environment variables using an end-tracing.{json,sh,bat,ps1} script from the directory where the start-tracing scripts are stored; and then run the command codeql database finalize <database> .

Once you have created a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database using indirect build tracing, you can work with it like any other {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database. For example, analyze the database, and upload the results to {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} if you use code scanning.

{% ifversion ghas-for-azure-devops %} {% note %}

Note: If you use Azure DevOps pipelines, the simplest way to create a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database is to use {% data variables.product.prodname_ghas_azdo %}. For documentation, see Configure {% data variables.product.prodname_ghas_azdo %} in Microsoft Learn.

{% endnote %} {% endif %}

The following example shows how you could use indirect build tracing in an Azure DevOps pipeline to create a {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database:

steps
:
    
#
 Download the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} and query packs...

    #
 Check out the repository ...


    #
 Run any pre-build tasks, for example, restore NuGet dependencies...


    #
 Initialize the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database.

    #
 In this example, the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} has been downloaded and placed on the PATH.

    - 
task
: 
CmdLine@1

       displayName
: 
Initialize {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database

      inputs
:
          
#
 Assumes the source code is checked out to the current working directory.

          #
 Creates a database at `<current working directory>/db`.

          #
 Running on Windows, so specifies a trace process level.

          script
: 
"
codeql database init --language csharp --trace-process-name Agent.Worker.exe --source-root . --begin-tracing db
"


    #
 Read the generated environment variables and values,

    #
 and set them so they are available for subsequent commands

    #
 in the build pipeline. This is done in PowerShell in this example.

    - 
task
: 
PowerShell@1

       displayName
: 
Set {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} environment variables

       inputs
:
          
targetType
: 
inline

          script
: 
>

             $json = Get-Content $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/db/temp/tracingEnvironment/start-tracing.json | ConvertFrom-Json

             $json.PSObject.Properties | ForEach-Object {

                 $template = "##vso[task.setvariable variable="

                 $template += $_.Name

                 $template += "]"

                 $template += $_.Value

                 echo "$template"

             }


    #
 Execute the pre-defined build step. Note the `msbuildArgs` variable.

    - 
task
: 
VSBuild@1

        inputs
:
          
solution
: 
'
**/*.sln
'

          msbuildArgs
: 
/p:OutDir=$(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory)

          platform
: 
Any CPU

          configuration
: 
Release

          #
 Execute a clean build, in order to remove any existing build artifacts prior to the build.

          clean
: 
True

       displayName
: 
Visual Studio Build


    #
 Read and set the generated environment variables to end build tracing. This is done in PowerShell in this example.

    - 
task
: 
PowerShell@1

       displayName
: 
Clear {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} environment variables

       inputs
:
          
targetType
: 
inline

          script
: 
>

             $json = Get-Content $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/db/temp/tracingEnvironment/end-tracing.json | ConvertFrom-Json

             $json.PSObject.Properties | ForEach-Object {

                 $template = "##vso[task.setvariable variable="

                 $template += $_.Name

                 $template += "]"

                 $template += $_.Value

                 echo "$template"

             }


    - 
task
: 
CmdLine@2

       displayName
: 
Finalize {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql %} database

       inputs
:
          
script
: 
'
codeql database finalize db
'


    #
 Other tasks go here, for example:

    #
 `codeql database analyze`

    #
 then `codeql github upload-results` ...

• To learn how to use the {% data variables.product.prodname_codeql_cli %} to analyze the database you created from your code, see " AUTOTITLE ."