Cleaner code starts here
Paste your snippet. CodeAva runs strict pattern heuristics, checks for anti-patterns, and surfaces actionable improvements.
The audit analyses the code snippet you paste. Your code is processed server-side to run the checks and is not stored by CodeAva. Results surface likely issues based on pattern matching — they are a starting point for review, not a replacement for thorough code review, testing, or a secure SDLC.
Overview
The Code Audit tool analyses pasted code snippets using a set of deterministic, rule-based checks to surface common quality issues, risky patterns, and maintainability concerns. It runs eight checks and grades each as critical, warning, or passed, then combines them into a code score.
Checks cover three categories: security patterns (eval() usage, hardcoded secrets, SQL injection construction, and XSS-prone DOM manipulation), code hygiene (debug statements left in and unresolved TODO or FIXME comments), and readability (lines exceeding 120 characters and snippets over 300 lines). Supported languages are JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, HTML, and SQL.
These are heuristic pattern checks, not a compiler, a type checker, or a full static analysis engine. They catch the most obvious and common issues in a snippet but cannot reason about runtime behaviour, business logic, or the broader context of a codebase. Use the results as a first pass, not a final verdict.
Use cases
When to use it
- Quick snippet reviewpaste a function or module before committing to catch obvious security smells, debug leftovers, or readability issues.
- Pre-commit sanity checkrun a snippet through the audit before opening a pull request to catch hardcoded secrets or eval calls that would fail code review.
- Legacy code triagepaste inherited or unfamiliar code to get a fast read on the most obvious risk patterns before spending time reading it in detail.
- Docs and tutorial examplesreview code examples before publishing in documentation, blog posts, or tutorials to avoid distributing snippets with unsafe patterns.
- Early quality screeningsurface SQL injection construction, XSS risks, or hardcoded credentials in code received from contractors or third parties.
When it's not enough
- Full repository analysisthe audit runs on a single pasted snippet. It does not analyse an entire codebase, resolve imports, or trace data flow across files.
- Runtime and logic testingpattern checks cannot detect bugs that only appear at runtime, incorrect business logic, or race conditions. Use tests and a debugger for those.
- Deep framework-aware analysisthe checks are language-agnostic pattern matchers. They do not understand framework-specific APIs, type safety, or context-sensitive security rules.
- Production sign-offdo not use audit results as the sole basis for approving code for production. Manual code review, tests, and a proper CI/CD pipeline are required.
How to use it
- 1
Select a language
Choose the language that matches your snippet from the dropdown: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP, HTML, or SQL. This helps the audit apply the most relevant checks.
- 2
Paste your snippet
Paste the code you want to review into the editor. Any size is accepted, though the audit will flag snippets over 300 lines as large.
- 3
Click Run Analysis
The tool runs all eight checks against your snippet server-side and returns results within a second or two.
- 4
Review findings by severity
Critical issues (eval usage, hardcoded secrets, SQL injection construction) appear first. Address these before working through warnings.
- 5
Apply fixes and retest
Fix the flagged issues in your code, paste the updated snippet, and run the audit again to confirm the critical findings are resolved.
Common errors and fixes
eval() usage flagged as critical
Replace eval() with safer alternatives. If you are parsing JSON, use JSON.parse(). If you need dynamic function calls, use a lookup object or a proper function registry. eval() executes arbitrary strings as code and is a common attack vector in JavaScript.
Hardcoded secrets or API keys detected
Remove credentials from your source code immediately. Store them in environment variables and access them via process.env (Node.js), os.environ (Python), or your framework's secrets manager. Never commit secrets to version control.
SQL injection risk: string concatenation in queries
Replace string-concatenated SQL queries with parameterized queries or a prepared statement API. In Node.js use the ? placeholder pattern with mysql2 or pg. In Python use the %s or ? pattern with your database driver. In PHP use PDO prepared statements.
XSS risk: innerHTML or dangerouslySetInnerHTML
Any content rendered as raw HTML must be sanitized before use. Use a library like DOMPurify for browser-side sanitization or a server-side HTML sanitizer. In React, avoid dangerouslySetInnerHTML unless the content source is fully trusted and sanitized.
Debug statements (console.log) left in code
Remove console.log, console.debug, and console.info calls before deploying to production. For structured logging in production, use a logging library with configurable log levels. In Python use the logging module instead of print statements.
Unresolved TODO, FIXME, or HACK comments
Unresolved comments are a form of technical debt. Track them in your issue tracker instead of leaving them in code. If a comment documents a known limitation, update it with context. If it marks incomplete work, complete or remove it before shipping.
Lines exceeding 120 characters
Break long lines by extracting intermediate variables, splitting long function call chains, or using line continuation syntax. Most style guides (Prettier, PEP 8, PSR-12) enforce an 80 to 120 character limit for readability.