LCOV vs SimpleCov
LCOV
github.comSimpleCov
github.comSide by side
| Figure | LCOV | SimpleCov |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Code Coverage Tools | 7.5 (#5) | 7.4 (#6) |
| Spec score · Test Coverage Tools | 7.5 (#16) | 7.4 (#20) |
| License | The repository identifies LCOV as GPL-2.0 licensed. | The repository identifies SimpleCov as MIT licensed. |
| Purpose | LCOV captures and displays information about which parts of a program ran during tests. | SimpleCov analyzes Ruby code coverage using Ruby’s built-in Coverage library. |
| Reports | It generates HTML coverage reports with colored coverage rates, bar graphs, and hyperlinks. | It includes HTML and JSON formatters and can merge coverage results across test suites. |
| Support | The README directs users with questions to open an issue or discussion and says issue support is provided by volunteers. | The project directs users to its issue tracker for code and bug reports and its Google Groups mailing list for discussion and announcements. |
Plans
In their own words
SimpleCov
SimpleCov is a free, MIT-licensed tool for measuring Ruby code coverage with Ruby’s built-in Coverage library. It produces HTML and JSON reports and can merge results across test suites. Coverage types include line, branch, method, oneshot-line, and eval. Configuration supports filters, groups, profiles, and thresholds. Optional test tracking can show which RSpec examples or Minitest tests cover a line, while oneshot coverage can record code reached in production. The command line includes report viewing, test selection, patch coverage, history, status, and badge commands. A Rails profile can include ERB, Haml, and Slim templates in reports. SimpleCov can also calculate coverage for changed lines and apply a minimum threshold as a gate. The project says it is built in CI on Ruby 3.2+ and JRuby 10+; JRuby supports line coverage only. To track application files, SimpleCov must start before application code is required. The project directs code and bug reports to its issue tracker and discussion and announcements to its Google Groups mailing list.