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statically analyze Kotlin with configurable rule sets, baselines, SARIF reports, and Gradle-friendly code-quality checks

OSS scale score 266.0OSS health 78Update pace 55 commits/30d
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Stars
7,080
Primary language
Kotlin
License
Apache-2.0
Repository last updated
Oct 3, 2026
On this page

Overview

detekt is a static code analysis tool for Kotlin. It provides configurable rule sets, baselines, source-level suppression, HTML/Markdown/SARIF/Checkstyle reports, and custom extensions, with both CLI and Gradle-plugin workflows for continuous code-quality checks.

Features and best fit

Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:

Key features

Analyze Kotlin code with configurable rule sets

Rule sets cover complexity, style, naming, exceptions, and other code-smell categories so problematic patterns can be detected without executing the application.

Sources: [1]

Use baselines and Suppress annotations for incremental adoption

A baseline can suppress existing findings so CI focuses on newly introduced issues, while source files can use @Suppress for targeted exceptions.

Sources: [1]

Emit HTML, Markdown, SARIF, and Checkstyle reports for automation

detekt can generate several report formats, including SARIF for integrations such as GitHub Code Scanning, and can be automated through either the CLI or Gradle plugin.

Sources: [1][2]

Best fit

Fits Kotlin teams introducing code-quality gates incrementally

Legacy codebases can start with a baseline, block new violations, and then tighten rule configuration over time instead of requiring an immediate full cleanup.

Sources: [1]

Before adoption

Do not confuse stable 1.23.8 with the 2.0 alpha line

GitHub still lists 1.23.8 as the latest stable release, while 2.0.0-alpha.6 was published in August 2026. Alpha.6 is built against Kotlin 2.4.10, Gradle 9.6.1, and AGP 9.3.1, so evaluate it separately from production upgrades.

Sources: [3][5][4]

Align stable 1.23.8 compatibility with the existing project toolchain

The 1.23.8 README documents Kotlin 2.0.21, Gradle 8.12.1, AGP 8.8.1, and compatibility through JDK 21. Gradle and Android projects should review plugin and toolchain versions together.

Sources: [1][3]

Treat the baseline as debt to reduce rather than a permanent allowlist

Baselines help legacy adoption, but leaving every old finding suppressed indefinitely stalls improvement. Review baseline diffs during rule changes and major upgrades and remove resolved entries.

Sources: [1]

Official sources

  1. [1]detekt 1.23.8 README(2026-10-04)
  2. [2]detekt 1.23.8 CLI documentation(2026-10-04)
  3. [3]detekt 1.23.8 stable release(2026-10-04)
  4. [4]detekt 2.0.0-alpha.6 README(2026-10-04)
  5. [5]detekt 2.0.0-alpha.6 release(2026-10-04)
  6. [6]detekt Apache-2.0 license(2026-10-04)
Supplemental curator note

For production adoption, stable 1.23.8 is the clearer baseline while active development has moved into the 2.0 alpha series. Version 2.0.0-alpha.6 is an alpha built against Kotlin 2.4.10 and Gradle 9.6.1, so treat stable upgrades and alpha migration experiments as separate workstreams.

Try it in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Download the stable detekt 1.23.8 CLI JAR

    Pin latest stable 1.23.8 as the production baseline and evaluate 2.0.0-alpha.6 separately.

    curl -sSLO https://github.com/detekt/detekt/releases/download/v1.23.8/detekt-cli-1.23.8-all.jar
  2. 2

    Review CLI options and exit-code behavior

    Inspect input, configuration, baseline, and report options. Findings at or above the configured threshold produce a non-zero CI-oriented exit code.

    java -jar detekt-cli-1.23.8-all.jar --help
  3. 3

    Scan a minimal Kotlin file

    Validate the CLI with a minimal scan before adding the Gradle plugin, project rules, or a baseline.

    printf 'fun main() { println("detekt") }\n' > Sample.kt && java -jar detekt-cli-1.23.8-all.jar --input Sample.kt
Check the official README

Growth

Growth trends · Last 30 days

7,080 Stars

Trend data is still being collected.

Development activity

Last 90 days · weekly

Commits (last 30 days)
55
Open PRs
32

Development activity is still being collected.

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GitHub data

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GitHub Topics

  • static
  • analysis
  • kotlin
  • codesmells
  • linter
  • gradle-plugin
  • static-analysis
  • lint
  • code-quality
  • hacktoberfest
Stars
7,080
Forks
874
Watchers
56
Open issues
157
Contributors
335
Owner type
Organization
Primary language
Kotlin
License
Apache-2.0
Repository last updated
Oct 3, 2026
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