Free licensing options for PVS-Studio

There are several options for free licensing of the PVS-Studio static code analyzer, designed to search for errors and potential vulnerabilities. Open source projects, small private projects, public security experts and Microsoft MVP status holders can use the free license. The article briefly discusses each of these options.

PVS-Studio is a tool for detecting errors and potential vulnerabilities in the source code of programs written in C, C ++, C # and Java. It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

PVS-Studio is a paid B2B solution and is used by a large number of teams in various companies. Customer list .

Let's consider the options when the PVS-Studio analyzer can be used for free.

Open projects

PVS-Studio can be used free of charge by developers involved in the development of open source projects hosted on GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. To everyone, we issue a free license for a period of 1 year. To obtain a license, you must:

• Go to page: Free license for PVS-Studio for Open Source
• Enter the name and e-mail to which the license key will be sent;
• Enter a link to your GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket profile;
• Send a request for a free license.

After the expiration of the license, you can get the new license key in the same way.

The key is individual and can only be used to verify open projects published on GitHub / GitLab / Bitbucket. A free license does not apply to project mirrors.

Additional details of this type of free licensing are described in the article " Free PVS-Studio for those who develop open source projects ."

Closed Projects

There are many small closed projects developed by enthusiasts. For example, these are games created by indie developers or academic projects.

For these projects, the option of free licensing may be suitable, based on the addition of comments of a special kind in the code. The idea is that such comments are unacceptable in large corporate projects, but programmers may well add them to their individual projects.

These comments are:

Comments for students (academic license):

// This is a personal academic project. Dear PVS-Studio, please check it.
// PVS-Studio Static Code Analyzer for C, C++, C#, and Java: http://www.viva64.com

Comments for individual developers:

// This is an independent project of an individual developer. Dear PVS-Studio, please check it.
// PVS-Studio Static Code Analyzer for C, C++, C#, and Java: http://www.viva64.com

By the way, in fact, this type of free license can be used not only in closed, but also in open projects.

Comments for open free projects:

// This is an open source non-commercial project. Dear PVS-Studio, please check it.
// PVS-Studio Static Code Analyzer for C, C++, C#, and Java: http://www.viva64.com

To start using the PVS-Studio static analyzer for free, you must complete the following two steps:

Step 1. If you use PVS-Studio as a plug-in for Visual Studio or use the Standalone utility, enter the following license key:

Name: PVS-Studio Free

Key: FREE-FREE-FREE-FREE

If you are using PVS-Studio for Linux, then proceed immediately to the second step; you will not need a license file.

Step 2 . Make corrections to all compiled files of your project. This refers to files with the extensions c, cc, cpp, cs, java and so on. Header h-files do not need to be changed.

You must enter two lines with a comment at the beginning of each file. If your project has a lot of files, then you can use the utility utility. You will need to tell her which comment to insert, and the directory with the code. Then the utility will recursively traverse all the files in the folder and subfolders, adding the corresponding comments to the source files. You can download the utility (along with the source code) here: how-to-use-pvs-studio-free .

Additional details of this type of free licensing are described in the article " How to use PVS-Studio for free ." Please be sure to read this article if you decide to choose the considered option for free use.

Security experts

Vulnerability search public security experts can write to us and get a free license for the PVS-Studio analyzer.

Those wishing to obtain a license and support will have to confirm that they are involved in security issues and conduct public activities, for example, write articles. These points will be clarified during the correspondence.

More details: " We provide the PVS-Studio analyzer to security experts. "

Microsoft MVP

The first to whom we offered free licenses were Microsoft MVP. Back in 2011, the publication " Free licenses for PVS-Studio for MVP " appeared. Few people already remember this, but this action continues to operate.

If you are Microsoft MVP, then write to us and indicate your MVP profile on the Microsoft website. We will send you a license that allows you to use PVS-Studio for 12 months without any restrictions, including for commercial purposes. Then the license can be renewed.

Conclusion

It should be recalled about the main scenario.

• A trial version of the analyzer is available on the site. The page where you can download PVS-Studio and get a trial key.
• A company can acquire a license and receive fast, quality support. Your programmers will communicate directly with the programmers of the PVS-Studio team. No intermediaries, support staff, and so on. Only direct communication with programmers and me (technical director). An example .

Thank you for your attention and wish to prevent as many errors in the code as possible with the help of PVS-Studio. Just do not forget that the essence of the methodology of static code analysis is in regular use, and not in one-time checks. Good luck

If you want to share this article with an English-speaking audience, then please use the link to the translation: Andrey Karpov. Ways to Get a Free PVS-Studio License .