Microsoft DevSkim

What Microsoft DevSkim is

Microsoft DevSkim is a free, MIT-licensed toolkit for security linting and static source-code analysis. It includes IDE plugins, language analyzers, and rules intended to help developers identify and address security vulnerabilities early. Built-in rules are provided, and custom rules can use JSONPath, XPath, and YmlPath. Listed language support includes C, C++, C#, Cobol, Go, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, and Python, among others. Its cross-platform .NET CLI analyzes files and directories and can be installed as a global tool or downloaded as platform-specific binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux. A C# library is available for embedding analysis in other tools. Results can be output as SARIF, JSON, or text; the CLI can apply suggested fixes from SARIF results and add suppression comments. The repository lists extensions for Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio, and the toolkit supports CI/CD in self-hosted environments. Support is limited to GitHub issues and project wiki resources. The project asks that vulnerability reports be sent privately to Microsoft’s Security Response Center rather than posted in public GitHub issues.

Who it suits

DevSkim suits developers who want source-code security analysis in IDEs, command-line workflows, or other tools. Its custom rules and CI/CD support may fit teams integrating checks into self-hosted development workflows.

Getting started

1. Open the DevSkim GitHub repository.
2. Install the .NET CLI as a global tool or download a platform-specific binary for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
3. Run the CLI on files or directories.
4. Add the Visual Studio Code or Visual Studio extension if you want IDE integration.
5. Use the C# library from NuGet to embed analysis in another tool.

Verdict

DevSkim offers IDE, CLI, and library options for security linting, with custom rules and several result formats. Developers should note the limited support channels and use private reporting for vulnerabilities.