/sonarqube-mcp

name: sonarqube-mcp
description: Provides SonarQube and SonarCloud integration patterns via the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Enables quality gate monitoring, issue discovery and triaging, pre-push code analysis, and rule education directly in the agent workflow. Use when the user wants to check quality gates, search for Sonar issues, analyze code snippets before committing, or understand SonarQube rules. Triggers on "sonarqube", "sonarcloud", "quality gate", "sonar issues", "analyze with sonar", "check sonar", "sonar rule", "pre-push analysis".
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SonarQube MCP Integration

Leverage SonarQube and SonarCloud capabilities directly through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to enforce code quality, discover issues, and run pre-push analysis inside the agent workflow.

Overview

This skill provides instructions and patterns for using the [SonarQube MCP Server](https://github.com/SonarSource/sonarqube-mcp-server) tools. It enables automated workflows for:

• Checking quality gate status before merges or deployments
• Discovering and triaging issues by severity and project
• Analyzing code snippets locally before committing (shift-left)
• Understanding SonarQube rules with full documentation

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• The user wants to check if a project passes its quality gate before merging a PR
• The user wants to find critical or blocker issues in one or more SonarQube projects
• The user wants to analyze a code snippet for issues before pushing to CI
• The user wants to understand why a specific Sonar rule flagged their code
• The user asks for pre-commit or pre-push quality feedback

**Trigger phrases:** "check quality gate", "sonarqube quality gate", "find sonar issues", "search sonar issues", "analyze code with sonar", "check sonar rule", "sonarcloud issues", "pre-push sonar check", "sonar pre-commit"

Prerequisites and Setup

The plugin includes a `.mcp.json` that starts the SonarQube MCP Server automatically via Docker. Before using this skill, set the required environment variables:

**SonarQube Server (remote or local):**

export SONARQUBE_TOKEN="squ_your_token"
export SONARQUBE_URL="https://sonarqube.mycompany.com"  # or http://host.docker.internal:9000 for local Docker

**SonarCloud:**

export SONARQUBE_TOKEN="squ_your_token"
export SONARQUBE_ORG="your-org-key"   # required for SonarCloud
# SONARQUBE_URL is not needed for SonarCloud

**Requirements:**

• Docker must be installed and running
• `SONARQUBE_TOKEN` is always required
• `SONARQUBE_URL` is required for SonarQube Server (use `host.docker.internal` for local instances)
• `SONARQUBE_ORG` is required for SonarCloud (omit `SONARQUBE_URL` in that case)

Quick Start

1. Set your SonarQube/SonarCloud credentials:

   # SonarQube Server
   export SONARQUBE_TOKEN="squ_your_token"
   export SONARQUBE_URL="https://sonarqube.mycompany.com"

   # SonarCloud
   export SONARQUBE_TOKEN="squ_your_token"
   export SONARQUBE_ORG="your-org-key"

2. Verify MCP tool availability:

• Tool names follow the pattern: `mcp__sonarqube-mcp__<tool-name>`

3. If the MCP server fails to start, check:

• Docker is running
• Environment variables are set
• Reference: [mcp/sonarqube on Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/mcp/sonarqube)

Reference Documents

• `references/metrics.md` — Common SonarQube metrics and their meaning
• `references/severity-levels.md` — Sonar severity levels and impact categories
• `references/best-practices.md` — Workflows for PR checks and pre-commit analysis
• `references/llm-context.md` — Tool selection guide and parameter mapping for LLM agents

Instructions

Step 1: Identify the Required Operation

Determine which operation the user needs:

| User Intent | Tool to Use | |---|---| | Check if project passes quality gate | `get_project_quality_gate_status` | | Find critical issues in a project | `search_sonar_issues_in_projects` | | Analyze code before committing | `analyze_code_snippet` | | Understand a flagged rule | `show_rule` | | Get detailed project metrics | `get_component_measures` | | Mark an issue as false positive | `change_sonar_issue_status` |

If the user's intent is ambiguous, ask for the project key and the goal before proceeding.

Step 2: Quality Gate Monitoring

Use `get_project_quality_gate_status` to verify a project meets its quality standards.

**Parameters:**

• `projectKey` (string) — Project key in SonarQube/SonarCloud
• `pullRequest` (string, optional) — Pull request ID for PR-specific gate check
• `analysisId` (string, optional) — Specific analysis ID

> Note: There is no `branch` parameter on this tool. Without a `pullRequest` or `analysisId`, the tool returns the quality gate status for the default branch.

**Pattern — Check default branch gate:**

{
  "name": "get_project_quality_gate_status",
  "arguments": {
    "projectKey": "my-application"
  }
}

**Pattern — Check PR gate before merge:**

{
  "name": "get_project_quality_gate_status",
  "arguments": {
    "projectKey": "backend-service",
    "pullRequest": "456"
  }
}

**Interpreting the response:**

• `status: "OK"` — Gate passed, safe to merge/deploy
• `status: "ERROR"` — Gate failed; check `conditions` array for failing metrics
• Each condition shows: `metricKey`, `actualValue`, `errorThreshold`, `comparator`

For more on metric keys, see `references/metrics.md`.

Step 3: Issue Discovery and Triaging

Use `search_sonar_issues_in_projects` to find and prioritize issues.

**Parameters:**

• `projects` (array, optional) — List of project keys; omit to search all accessible projects
• `severities` (array, optional) — Filter: `BLOCKER`, `HIGH`, `MEDIUM`, `LOW`, `INFO`
• `pullRequestId` (string, optional) — Limit search to a specific PR
• `p` (integer, optional) — Page number (default: 1)
• `ps` (integer, optional) — Page size (default: 100, max: 500)

**Pattern — Find blockers and critical issue