Automating away bugs with Error Prone in practice
summary
Picnic describes using Error Prone as a compiler plugin to find and auto-fix bugs across Java repos, configured via two Maven profiles: one for analysis and one for patch mode that edits source in place. They run checks selectively, land fixes as small topical commits, and report results like almost 800 files changed and ~4,000 edits for one rule and ~33,000 lines rewritten across 60 PRs. The open source Error‑Prone Support repo supplies ~750 refaster rules and 40+ custom checks and CI tooling to enforce enabled rules.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (10)
- 0:00Introduction
- 7:23What is Error Prone
- 10:15Error Prone with Maven
- 12:19Live demo
- 18:21Rollout strategy
- 24:44Error Prone at Picnic
- 27:10Error Prone Support
- 31:28Opinionated rules at scale
- 34:36State and adoption
- 37:41Q&A
related talks
48mSay goodbye to bugs and anti-patterns with Error Prone
38mSay goodbye to bugs and anti-patterns with Error Prone
01h 57mAutomatically improving Java codebases with Error Prone
40mStreamlining Large-Scale Java Development Using Error Prone
49mStreamlining large-scale Java development using Error Prone
31mError Prone: Google's Secret Weapon for Bug-Free Lines of Code
43mCracking the Code Review: from Guesswork to Automated Guidance
06mHow Automated Tools Can Communicate Effective Strategies for Fixing Bugs