Starting a scan - Amazon Q Developer
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Starting a scan

Amazon Q can scan your entire codebase, or auto-scan your code as you write it.

Scan as you code

Note

The following steps assume that you have already installed the Amazon Q plugin in your IDE, and that you have subscribed to Amazon Q Developer Pro.

Amazon Q auto-scans are only available with a Amazon Q Developer Pro subscription in JetBrains and Visual Studio Code.

Amazon Q automatically scans the file you are actively coding in, generating findings as soon as they are detected in your code. Auto-scans are enabled by default when you use Amazon Q.

Pausing auto-scans

To pause auto scans, complete the following steps.

  1. Choose the text, Amazon Q, from the rectangular area at the bottom of the IDE window. In VS Code, this area is called the component tray. In JetBrains IDEs, this area is called the status bar.

    After you choose the Amazon Q text the Amazon Q task bar opens at the top of the IDE window.

    In the following image, in Visual Studio Code, the user chooses the text Amazon Q at the bottom of the interface, prompting a drop-down window from which the user may choose Pause Auto-Scans.

    vsc with red circles indicatating "Amazon Q" at the bottom of the window, and the related drop-down showing "pause auto scans" as a choice

    In the following image, in IntelliJ (a JetBrains IDE), the user chooses the text Amazon Q at the bottom of the interface, prompting a drop-down window from which the user may choose Pause Auto-Scans.

    JetBrains (IntelliJ) with red circles indicatating "Amazon Q" at the bottom of the window, and the related drop-down showing "pause suggestions" as a choice

  2. Choose Pause Auto-Scans.

Scan your project

You can scan a project to evaluate the security posture of your entire codebase at once.

To manually run a scan, complete the following steps for your IDE.

JetBrains

To scan a project in a JetBrains IDE:

  1. Open up a file from the project you want to scan in your JetBrains IDE.

  2. Choose Amazon Q from the status bar at the bottom of the IDE window.

    The Amazon Q task bar opens on the right of the IDE window.

  3. Choose Run Project Scan from the task bar. Amazon Q begins scanning your project.

    In the following image, in IntelliJ (a JetBrains IDE), the user chooses Amazon Q from the status bar, prompting a task bar from which the user may choose Run Project Scan.

    IntelliJ (a JetBrains IDE) with red circles incating "Amazon Q" at the bottom of the window, and the Amazon Q task bar showing "Run Project Scan" as a choice

  4. When the scan is complete, the findings Amazon Q generated appear in the Problems tab. You can choose individual findings to be redirected to the specific area of the file where the vulnerability or low-quality code was detected.

  5. Hover your cursor over the underlined code to view details about the finding. For information about addressing findings, see Addressing findings.

Visual Studio Code

To scan a project in a VS Code:

  1. Open up a file from the project you want to scan in VS Code.

  2. Choose Amazon Q from the component tray at the bottom of the IDE window.

    The Amazon Q task bar opens at the top of the IDE window.

  3. Choose Run Project Scan. Amazon Q begins scanning your project.

    In the following image, in VS Code, the user chooses Amazon Q from the component tray, prompting a task bar from which the user may choose Run Project Scan.

    Visual Studio Code with red circles indicating "Amazon Q" at the bottom of the window, and the Amazon Q task bar showing "Run Project Scan" as a choice

  4. When the scan is complete, the findings Amazon Q generated appear in the Problems tab. You can choose individual findings to be redirected to the specific area of the file where the vulnerability or low-quality code was detected.

  5. Hover your cursor over the underlined code to view details about the finding. For information about addressing findings, see Addressing findings.

Visual Studio

To scan a project in a Visual Studio:

  1. Open up a file from the project you want to scan in Visual Studio.

  2. Choose the Amazon Q icon at the bottom of your file to open the Amazon Q task bar.

  3. From the task bar, choose Run Security Scan. Amazon Q begins scanning your project.

    In the following image, in Visual Studio, the user chooses the Amazon Q icon, prompting a task bar from which the user may choose Run Security Scan.

    Visual Studio with the Amazon Q task bar showing "Run Security Scan" as a choice

  4. The status of your scan is updated in the Visual Studio output pane. You're notified when the scan is complete.

    For information about viewing and addressing findings, see Addressing findings.