Hi @sonar-qube-user,
Thanks for your interest in analyzing C++ with SonarQube, and thanks as well to @Allen568 for the helpful reply above.
A few separate topics are getting mixed together here, so let me break them down first.
sonarqube-agent-plugins is an integration layer for coding agents such as Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, Codex, and others. It helps the agent connect to SonarQube through the SonarQube CLI and MCP Server so it can list issues, inspect quality gates, and use other SonarQube capabilities, such as Agentic Analysis. It doesn’t provide scanning/analysis capabilities per se.
Agentic Analysis is a beta features that we have released recently. It is currently available only for SonarQube Cloud. It reuses context collected during a previous SonarQube Cloud CI analysis and reuses that context for single- or multi-file analysis on the cloud (on Sonar’s infrastructure). So from the user’s point of view they can verify local changes without running a local build by sending the changed files to our cloud for analysis, but it still depends on an earlier CI analysis to collect the required context.
Agentic Analysis does support C/C++
For CI analysis of C/C++ code, we do support a build-less analysis mode, called AutoConfig. AutoConfig is available on SonarQube Server and SonarQube Cloud. In AutoConfig mode, the analyzer deduces compilation options automatically instead of taking them from a compilation database. That makes setup easier, but it can decrease analysis quality in some cases.
AutoConfig was introduced in SonarQube Server 10.6. Given the versions you listed, SonarQube Server 8.9.10 and CFamily 6.20.5, AutoConfig is not available in your setup.
With that in mind, here are direct answers to your questions.
- Does
sonarqube-agent-plugins support C/C++ on SonarQube Server Developer Edition?
sonarqube-agent-plugins works with SonarQube Server Developer Edition. But that is orthogonal to build-less C/C++ scanning. The plugin helps agents interact with SonarQube, it does not change the underlying C/C++ analysis capabilities available on your server.
The sonarqube-agent-plugins repository appears to offer an AI/agent-based scanning approach. We’d like to confirm:
If by “AI/agent-based scanning” you mean that an LLM itself performs the static analysis, then no, that is not what this plugin does. The plugin connects the agent to SonarQube capabilities. For SonarQube Cloud it can perform Agentic Analysis as describe earlier.
- Is C/C++ a supported language in this plugin?
As long as your SonarQube Server can analyse C/C++ then the plugin can expose the analysis results to coding agents. Again, the plugin is just the integration layer; it does not define C/C++ support independently from the SonarQube capabilities behind it.
- Is it compatible with SonarQube Server Developer Edition (8.9.x), or is it restricted to SonarQube Cloud or a higher edition?
The plugin is compatible with SonarQube Server Developer Edition. However, for your specific use case, the important point is that it will not enable build-less C/C++ analysis on an 8.9.x server.
- Does SonarQube support build-less scanning for C/C++ on Developer Edition?
Yes, via AutoConfig, but only starting with SonarQube Server 10.6.
Is build-less scanning supported for C/C++ on SonarQube Server Developer Edition?
Yes in current supported versions that include AutoConfig, but not in SonarQube Server 8.9.x.
If so, what are the known limitations compared to build-based scanning?
See details in Choosing the right analysis mode.
Does sonarqube-agent-plugins provide a path to build-less C/C++ analysis, and if yes, what are the prerequisites?
Not for your current 8.9.x SonarQube Server setup. On SonarQube Cloud, the plugin can enable Agentic Analysis, but that is a different feature and still requires a previous CI analysis to collect context.
Given the versions you listed, SonarQube Server 8.9.10 and CFamily 6.20.5, AutoConfig is not available in your setup. So the short answer is that sonarqube-agent-plugins does not provide “a path” to build-less C/C++ analysis on that 8.9.x server.