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Delta Coverage vs SonarQube

Both tools help improve code quality, but they serve different purposes and have different tradeoffs.

Quick Comparison

Aspect Delta Coverage SonarQube
Focus Coverage of changed code Full static analysis + coverage
Setup time 5 minutes Hours to days
Infrastructure None (runs locally) Server required
Cost Free (open source) Free tier limited, paid for advanced
Feedback speed Seconds (local) Minutes (server scan)
PR integration GitHub Action available Native integration
Languages JVM (Java, Kotlin, Scala) 30+ languages
Static analysis No Yes (bugs, vulnerabilities, smells)

When to Choose Delta Coverage

Delta Coverage is ideal when you need:

  • Fast local feedback — Get coverage results in seconds, not minutes
  • No infrastructure — No servers to maintain or pay for
  • Focused metrics — Care about coverage of new code, not legacy
  • Gradual improvement — Enforce standards on new code while improving legacy over time
  • CI simplicity — Single Gradle task, no external service calls

When to Choose SonarQube

SonarQube is better when you need:

  • Full static analysis — Bug detection, security vulnerabilities, code smells
  • Multi-language support — Projects with Python, JavaScript, Go, etc.
  • Quality gates — Block merges based on multiple quality metrics
  • Historical trends — Track quality metrics over months/years
  • Enterprise features — Portfolio management, governance, compliance

Using Both Together

You can use both tools. A common pattern:

  1. Delta Coverage runs on every commit locally and in CI for fast feedback
  2. SonarQube runs nightly or weekly for comprehensive analysis

This gives developers immediate coverage feedback while maintaining long-term quality tracking.

Example: Same Change, Different Feedback

Consider adding a new feature with 100 lines of code:

Delta Coverage

./gradlew test deltaCoverage

+----------------------+----------+----------+--------+
| [test] Delta Coverage Stats                         |
+----------------------+----------+----------+--------+
| Class                | Lines    | Branches | Instr. |
+----------------------+----------+----------+--------|
| com.example.Feature  | 92%      | 85%      | 90%    |
+----------------------+----------+----------+--------+

BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 12s

Result: Pass/fail in 12 seconds. Developer knows exactly what to test next.

SonarQube

  1. Push code to branch
  2. Wait for CI to trigger scan
  3. Wait for SonarQube to analyze
  4. Check PR decoration or dashboard
  5. Parse through multiple metrics

Result: Feedback in 3-5 minutes. More comprehensive, but slower iteration.

Migration Path

If you're currently using SonarQube for coverage:

  1. Add Delta Coverage for local development first
  2. Keep SonarQube for full analysis
  3. Optionally, disable SonarQube coverage checks and use Delta Coverage for enforcement

See CI Integration for setup examples.