PMD vs SpotBugs
PMD
pmd.github.ioSpotBugs
spotbugs.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | PMD | SpotBugs |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Static Analysis Tools | 8.2 (#12) | 7.3 (#24) |
| Purpose | PMD is an extensible cross-language static code analyzer that finds common programming flaws. | SpotBugs uses static analysis to look for bugs in Java code. |
| Support | The project directs users to Stack Overflow for questions, GitHub issues for suspected bugs or requests, and Gitter for quick questions. | Users can report issues on GitHub or contact the project through its general purpose mailing list. |
Plans
In their own words
PMD
PMD is a free, extensible static code analyzer that checks source code for programming flaws such as unused variables, empty catch blocks, and unnecessary object creation. It includes more than 400 built-in rules, and teams can write custom rules in Java or XPath. Its bundled CPD tool finds duplicated code across many programming languages. PMD checks source directories from the command line and can run as a Maven, Ant, Gradle, or bld build operation. Supported languages include Java, JavaScript, Salesforce Apex and Visualforce, Kotlin, Swift, Modelica, PL/SQL, Apache Velocity, JSP, WSDL, Maven POM, HTML, XML, and XSL; Scala is supported without Scala rules. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and requires Java 8 or above. For CI, its GitHub Action can create SARIF reports and fail builds based on violation counts; documentation also covers GitLab, Jenkins, and Bamboo integrations. IDE integrations include Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and Visual Studio Code, though some listed plugins are not actively maintained. Only the latest major version is actively developed.
SpotBugs
SpotBugs has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.