# Advanced CodeCop Analyzer and Custom Rulesets (Business Central) _Published: 2024-01-05 · Author: Finn_ ## Advanced CodeCop Analyzer and Custom Rulesets We have already talked about [Rulesets in Business Central](/programming/2023/10/10/BC-Rulesets.html). This article is about extending it to have multiple ruleset files and using CodeCop Analyzers from the community. **Attention:** This only works on a Windows PC. It does not work on a Mac. ### Update - LinterCop is deprecated If you want to upgrade to ALCop then read this article: [There is a new sheriff in town](/programming/2026/07/22/there-is-a-new-sheriff-in-town.html) ## Setup Find your workspace settings file in the `.vscode` folder. It is named `settings.json` and make sure you have this: ``````json { "al.enableCodeAnalysis": true, "al.codeAnalyzers": [ "${CodeCop}", "${UICop}", "${PerTenantExtensionCop}", "${analyzerFolder}BusinessCentral.LinterCop.dll", "${analyzerFolder}CompanialCopAnalyzer.dll", ], "al.backgroundCodeAnalysis": "Project", "al.ruleSetPath": "./.vscode/Main.ruleset.json", `````` The `Main.ruleset.json` file is used to point to the other ruleset.json files. It should not contain any rules. ``````json { "name": "Personal Project ruleset", "description": "A list of project specific rules", "includedRuleSets": [ { "action": "Default", "path": ".rulesets/AfterConversion.ruleset.json" }, { "action": "Default", "path": ".rulesets/LinterCopIgnore.ruleset.json" }, { "action": "Default", "path": ".rulesets/CompanialCopIgnore.ruleset.json" } ] } `````` The rulesets are placed in a subfolder `.rulesets` in the `.vscode` folder. ## BusinessCentral.LinterCop [Stefan Maroń](https://stefanmaron.wordpress.com/) is the author of the [BusinessCentral.LinterCop](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=StefanMaron.businesscentral-lintercop) After having installed the LinterCop, I am ignoring some of Stefan's rules. Add the `LinterCopIgnore.ruleset.json` file to the `.rulesets` folder with the following content. ``````json { "name": "Ignore.BusinessCentral.LinterCop", "description": "Suppressing some BusinessCentral.LinterCop rules.", "rules": [ { "id": "LC0047", "action": "None", "justification": "Locked Label must have a suffix Tok." }, { "id": "LC0025", "action": "None", "justification": "Procedure must be either local, internal or define a documentation comment." }, { "id": "LC0010", "action": "None", "justification": "Cyclomatic Complexity." } ] } `````` Once the file is in place, it becomes much easier to activate or deactivate rules. ### LinterCop Configuration Place the following file `LinterCop.json` in the root of your project. You can then configure the settings below. Maybe you want the thresholds to be bigger. ``````json { "cyclomaticComplexityThreshold": 8, "maintainabilityIndexThreshold": 20, "enableRule0011ForTableFields": false, "enableRule0016ForApiObjects": false } `````` ## Custom Rule Cop [CompanialCop](https://github.com/Companial/CompanialCop) is an interesting solution to missing rules. If you are interested in diving deeper into this, I suggest watching this video on YouTube [Automating Dynamics 365 Business Central Code Quality: A Guide to Using Custom Code Analysis for AL](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP_xy0seRQs) by [Tine Staric](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tstaric/). You can download the `CompanialCopAnalyzer.dll` file from the [CompanialCop/releases](https://github.com/Companial/CompanialCop/releases) page and place it in the AL Extension folder. For example `%userprofile%\.vscode\extensions\ms-dynamics-smb.al-7.4.502459\bin\`. Add the `CompanialCopIgnore.ruleset.json` file to the `.rulesets` folder with the following content. ``````json { "name": "Ignore.Companial.CodeCop", "description": "Suppressing some Companial.CodeCop rules.", "rules": [ { "id": "CM0002", "action": "None", "justification": "Locked Label must have a suffix Tok." }, { "id": "CM0012", "action": "None", "justification": "Procedure must be either local or internal." }, { "id": "CM0017", "action": "None", "justification": "Object should not have empty sections. Test functions are allowed to have empty sections." }, { "id": "CM0018", "action": "None", "justification": "Objects need to have the Access/Extensible properties defined." }, { "id": "CM0023", "action": "None", "justification": "The identifier must have at least one of the mandatory affixes." } ] } `````` ## What rules should you ignore? You should not choose to follow all their rules. Which brings up a good question. **How do I know which rules to follow, and which not to follow?** The answer is **consistency**. Is the rule consistent with what Microsoft does? In general, I recommend staying as close as possible to the Microsoft way of programming. ## Clean AL Code Initiative - Part 1: [Rulesets in Business Central](/programming/2023/10/10/BC-Rulesets.html) - Part 2: [Namespaces in AL](/programming/2023/12/28/Namespaces-in-AL.html) - Part 3: [VS Code Extensions for AL](/programming/2023/12/29/Extensions-for-AL.html) - Part 4: [Automated Tests in AL](/programming/2024/01/03/Automated-Tests-in-AL.html) - **Part 5**: [Advanced CodeCop Analyzer and Custom Rulesets](/programming/2024/01/05/BC-Advanced-Rulesets.html) - Part 6: [How to make a code review](/programming/2024/01/11/how-to-make-a-code-review.html) - Part 7: [Preconditions and TryFunctions in AL](/programming/2024/01/12/TryFunctions-in-AL.html) - Part 8: [There is a new sheriff in town](/programming/2026/07/22/there-is-a-new-sheriff-in-town.html) ## Super fast tests covering 100% of your code - Part 1: [Environment Interfaces - Part 1 - System Environment](/programming/2025/06/26/environment-interface-part-1.html) - Part 2: [Environment Interfaces - Part 2 - External API](/programming/2025/06/26/environment-interface-part-2.html) - Part 3: [Environment Interfaces - Part 3 - Standard Application](/programming/2025/06/26/environment-interface-part-3.html) - Part 4: [Temporary Tables in Tests](/programming/2025/06/26/temporary-tables-in-tests.html) --- [View the normal web page](https://www.finnpedersenfrance.com/programming/2024/01/05/BC-Advanced-Rulesets.html)