How do I generate a PMD HTML report?

`pmd check -d src -R rulesets/java/quickstart.xml -f html -r pmd.html` writes a single browsable page. From Maven, `mvn pmd:pmd` puts one under `target/site/`.

Why publish it rather than archive the Maven site?

Because the Maven site is a folder on a build agent that expires. A published report is one URL that stays valid, updates in place, and keeps every previous run as a revision.

Does the build still fail on violations?

Keep `pmd check` (or `mvn pmd:check`) as the gate and generate the report in a separate step with `|| true` plus `if: always()`, so a failing gate still leaves the explanation behind.

Can I publish PMD and CPD together?

Publish them as two report ids — one for violations, one for copy-paste detection. Two focused URLs beat one page nobody scrolls to the bottom of.

Can reviewers claim rules?

Yes. Anchored threads sit on the violation, so "we're suppressing `LawOfDemeter` in the adapter layer" is recorded next to the finding instead of only in a ruleset XML.

Share a PMD HTML report

PMD has been telling Java teams about their CyclomaticComplexity since before most of the code it analyzes was written. The findings are useful. The delivery mechanism — a file under target/site/ on a build agent — is why nobody looks at them.

Write the report

Standalone:

pmd check -d src/main/java \
  -R rulesets/java/quickstart.xml \
  -f html -r pmd.html || true

Maven:

mvn pmd:pmd          # → target/site/pmd.html

Gradle's pmd plugin writes build/reports/pmd/main.html.

The || true matters in a report step — PMD exits non-zero when it finds violations, which is every run you care about.

Publish it

Drag the HTML into the app, or from CI:

curl -fsS -X PATCH "https://commareports.com/api/v1/reports/$REPORT_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COMMA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --rawfile html pmd.html \
        --arg title "PMD — $(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" \
        '{title: $title, html: $html}')"

If the report references a stylesheet (the Maven site variant does), drag the folder rather than the single file and the references are rewritten to the uploaded assets.

Keep the gate separate

// Gradle: the gate fails the build
pmd { ignoreFailures = false }

- name: PMD report
  if: always()
  run: mvn -q pmd:pmd

A red gate with no readable artifact is the failure mode worth engineering around.

What review adds

Anchored threads on a rule cluster — ownership, suppressions and the reasoning behind them, sitting on the evidence. See commenting on HTML.
Revisions, so "we cut priority-1 violations in half" is a diff, not a claim.
Access per report — private, team, domain-gated, or named reviewers. See the sharing model.

Limits

Entry HTML: 5 MB. Assets: 25 MB per file, 250 MB and 500 files total.
60 requests/minute per token.

Try it

Comma is free — unlimited reports, unlimited commenters, unlimited revision history.

Publish an analysis report →