Warning: Detected X Kotlin files in your project that could not be processed without a build

CodeQL databases can be created for Java without building the code, but Kotlin files are excluded unless the code is built.

In this article

About this warning

Warning: Detected X Kotlin files in your project that could not be processed without a build. To process these files...

This warning is reported when Kotlin files are detected in a repository that ran CodeQL code scanning for Java using the build mode of none (default setup), or if you run the CodeQL CLI using --build-mode none for a repository containing Java and Kotlin files.

Confirming the cause of the warning

This warning is only displayed when the build mode of none is used for a repository with both Java and Kotlin files.

The CodeQL action and CodeQL CLI support a build mode of none for Java. This provides an easy way to enable analysis for Java code without building the codebase. However, Kotlin files are not included in the resulting CodeQL database.

You can verify the presence of Kotlin files by looking at the repository or pull request that triggered the warning. The none build mode is used only in the following circumstances:

  • Code scanning was enabled for the repository before Kotlin code was added and after the new mode was introduced (previously it would have used the autobuild mode).
  • The CodeQL workflow specifies a build mode of none for the repository (check for build-mode: none).
  • The CodeQL CLI is called without a --command and with --build-mode none.

Fixing the problem

You may not want to analyze the Kotlin files, in which case you can ignore the warning message.

If you want to update the analysis to also include Kotlin files, then CodeQL will need to build the Java and Kotlin code.

Code scanning default setup

  1. Wait until the Kotlin code is merged into the default branch for the repository.
  2. Disable and then re-enable default setup on the "Settings" page for your repository.

This will trigger a new analysis using automatic build detection. See Configuring default setup for code scanning and Building Java and Kotlin.

If the automatic build detection fails, you will need to use advanced setup with the correct build commands for the project to analyze both languages.

Code scanning advanced setup

If you already use advanced setup, you can edit the CodeQL workflow and change the build mode for java-kotlin from none to either autobuild to automatically build your project, or manual to specify your own build steps. Building Java and Kotlin.

If you need to convert from default setup to advanced setup, you need enable advanced setup on the on the "Settings" page for your repository and create a CodeQL workflow. Then you can define a manual build mode for java-kotlin and define the build commands for the project.

Running the CodeQL CLI directly

Update your calls to run the CodeQL CLI for the repository and pull requests to replace --build-mode none by --build-mode autobuild to try the automatic build detection. If automatic build detection is unsuccessful, remove the --build-mode option and include one or more --command options detailing the build script or steps required to build the project.

Further reading