codeql

Installation
SKILL.md

CodeQL Analysis

Supported languages: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Java/Kotlin, C/C++, C#, Ruby, Swift.

Skill resources: Reference files and templates are located at {baseDir}/references/ and {baseDir}/workflows/.

Essential Principles

  1. Database quality is non-negotiable. A database that builds is not automatically good — a cached build extracts nothing while reporting success.

  2. Data extensions catch what CodeQL misses. Django, Spring, and Express projects still wrap database calls, request parsing, and shell execution in project-specific APIs that no shipped model covers.

  3. Explicit suite references prevent silent query dropping. Never pass pack names to codeql database analyze — each pack's defaultSuiteFile applies hidden filters that can produce zero results. Always generate a .qls.

  4. Zero findings needs investigation, not celebration. It can mean poor extraction, missing models, the wrong packs, or suite filtering. Run {baseDir}/scripts/check_db_quality.py after the build, confirm {baseDir}/scripts/verify_query_suite.py exited zero for the suite in use — the generation scripts run it, so invoke it by hand only for a reused or hand-edited suite — and say in the report that both passed.

  5. macOS Apple Silicon requires workarounds for compiled languages. Exit code 137 is an arm64e/arm64 mismatch, not a build failure. Try Homebrew arm64 tools or Rosetta before falling back to build-mode=none.

  6. Follow workflows step by step. Each phase gates the next; skipping quality assessment or data extensions leaves the gap invisible in the results.

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First Seen
Jan 19, 2026
codeql — trailofbits/skills