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Unused exclude - #8906

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danmar wants to merge 3 commits into
cppcheck-opensource:mainfrom
cppchecksolutions:unused-exclude
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Unused exclude#8906
danmar wants to merge 3 commits into
cppcheck-opensource:mainfrom
cppchecksolutions:unused-exclude

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@danmar danmar commented Sep 30, 2026

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Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings September 30, 2026 19:57
Copilot AI reviewed Sep 30, 2026
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Copilot review overview

🟡 Changes recommended

Overlapping patterns are misreported, some build paths no longer compile, and GUI project analysis omits validation.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1 High severity · 2 Medium severity · 2 Low severity

Open (5)
What changed in this PR

Adds detection and reporting for unused ignore/exclude patterns across CLI and GUI analysis flows.

Changes:

  • Tracks matched patterns in PathMatch.
  • Reports unused exclusions during CLI and GUI analysis.
  • Adds coverage for matching and reporting behavior.
File Description
lib/​pathmatch.h Adds match tracking API and state.
lib/​pathmatch.cpp Records matched patterns.
lib/​importproject.h Returns unmatched project exclusions.
lib/​importproject.cpp Collects unmatched project exclusions.
cli/​filelister.h Makes matcher parameters mutable.
cli/​filelister.cpp Propagates mutable matchers.
cli/​cmdlineparser.cpp Rejects unused exclusions.
gui/​filelist.h Exposes unmatched exclusions.
gui/​filelist.cpp Computes unmatched exclusions.
gui/​mainwindow.cpp Displays unused-exclusion warnings.
gui/​test/​filelist/​testfilelist.h Declares new GUI tests.
gui/​test/​filelist/​testfilelist.cpp Tests unmatched GUI exclusions.
test/​testpathmatch.cpp Tests pattern tracking.
test/​testfilelister.cpp Updates matcher usage.
test/​testcmdlineparser.cpp Tests CLI validation.
test/​helpers.cpp Updates helper matcher usage.

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Comment thread cli/filelister.h
* @return On success, an empty string is returned. On error, a error message is returned.
*/
static std::string addFiles(std::list<FileWithDetails> &files, const std::string &path, const std::set<std::string> &extra, bool recursive, const PathMatch& ignored, bool debug = false);
static std::string addFiles(std::list<FileWithDetails> &files, const std::string &path, const std::set<std::string> &extra, bool recursive, PathMatch& ignored, bool debug = false);
Comment thread lib/importproject.cpp
else
++it;
}
return matcher.unmatched();
Comment thread lib/pathmatch.cpp
Comment on lines 36 to +40
return std::any_of(mPatterns.cbegin(), mPatterns.cend(), [&] (const std::string &pattern) {
return match(pattern, path, mBasepath, mode, mSyntax);
const bool res = match(pattern, path, mBasepath, mode, mSyntax);
if (res)
mMatchedPatterns.insert(pattern);
return res;
Comment thread cli/cmdlineparser.cpp

const auto& unmatched = matcher.unmatched();
if (!unmatched.empty()) {
mLogger.printError("unused ignore/exclude path '" + unmatched.front() + "' to hide warnings in certain files use suppressions instead.");
Comment thread gui/mainwindow.cpp
if (!unmatchedExcludePaths.isEmpty()) {
QMessageBox msg(QMessageBox::Warning,
"Cppcheck",
tr("Unused exclude paths:\n%1\nto hide warnings in certain files use suppressions instead").arg(unmatchedExcludePaths.join("\n")),
Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings September 30, 2026 20:01
Copilot AI reviewed Sep 30, 2026
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Copilot review overview

🔵 Needs a closer look

Windows compilation is broken, and several paths can incorrectly or inconsistently report unused exclusions.

Review effort: Balanced
Findings: 1 High severity · 2 Medium severity · 2 Low severity

Open (5)
Previously missed (1)

In code that hasn't changed since last review

Medium severity Validate project excludes against the complete file set

gui/​mainwindow.cpp:694

This check evaluates project-wide excludes only against the current files argument. checkProject() passes recheckFiles here when rechecking a modified subset (mainwindow.cpp:1986-1995), so any valid project exclude that only matches a file outside that subset is reported as unused and the recheck is aborted. Restrict this validation to a full analysis, or validate against the complete project input set rather than the recheck subset.

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@danmar @dmcppcheck