Install Cppcheck on Ubuntu 24.04

Cppcheck is a static analysis tool for C and C++ code. It helps developers find bugs, undefined behavior, memory leaks, and other issues without actually running the program. Unlike compilers, which check for syntax and some semantic issues, Cppcheck focuses on deeper code analysis to uncover subtle programming mistakes. This tutorial explains how to install Cppcheck on Ubuntu 24.04.

Install Cppcheck

Update the package lists:

sudo apt update

Run the following command to install Cppcheck:

sudo apt install -y cppcheck

After installing, verify the Cppcheck version with the following command:

cppcheck --version

Testing Cppcheck

For demonstration purposes, create a main.c file:

nano main.c

Add the following lines of code:

int main() {
    char a[100];
    a[100] = 0;

    return 0;
}

Now run:

cppcheck main.c

You'll likely see output like:

main.c:3:6: error: Array 'a[100]' accessed at index 100, which is out of bounds. [arrayIndexOutOfBounds]
    a[100] = 0;
     ^

Uninstall Cppcheck

To fully remove Cppcheck along with all its related dependencies, run the following command:

sudo apt purge --autoremove -y cppcheck