Supported tool versions
Last updated: May 17, 2026
At the time of the last major updates to the Gcov plugin, the following notes on version compatibility were known to be accurate.
Keep in mind that for proper functioning, you do not necessarily need to install all the tooks the Gcov plugin works with. Depending on configuration options documented in later sections, any of the following tool combinations may be sufficient for your needs:
gcovgcov+gcovrgcov+reportgeneratorgcov+gcovr+reportgenerator
gcov
The Gcov plugin is known to work with gcov packaged with GNU Compiler
Collection 12 through at least 15.
The maintainers of gcov introduced significant behavioral changes for version
12. Previous versions of gcov had a simple exit code scheme with only a
single non-zero exit code upon fatal errors. Since version 12 gcov emits a
variety of exit codes even if the noted issue is a non-fatal error. The Gcov
plugin's logic assumes version 12 behavior and processes failure messages and
exit codes appropriately, taking into account plugin configuration options.
The Gcov plugin should be compatible with versions of gcov before version 12.
That is, its improved gcov exit handling should not be broken by the prior
simpler behavior. The Gcov plugin dependes on the gcov command line and has
been compatible with it as far back as gcov version 7.
Because long file paths are quite common in software development scenarios, by
default, the Gcov plugin depends on the gcov -x flag. This flag hashes long
file paths to ensure they are not a problem for certain platforms' file
systems. This flag became available with gcov version 7. We do not recommend
using gcov version 6 and earlier. And, in fact, because of the Gcov plugin's
dependence on the gcov -x flag, attempting to use it will fail.
GNU Compiler Collection 14 introduced changes in how coverage is instrumented.
The gcov plugin implemented a revised means of processing coverage that is
forward compatible with GCC 14+ and backwards compatible to the earliest
versions of the collection.
gcovr
The Gcov plugin is known to work with gcovr 5.2 through gcovr 8.x. The
Gcov plugin supports gcovr command line conventions since version 4.2 and
attempts to support gcovr command lines before version 4.2. We recommend
using gcovr 5 and later.
reportgenerator
The Gcov plugin is known to work with reportgenerator 5.2.4. The command line
for executing reportgenerator that the Gcov plugin relies on has largely been
stable since version 4. We recommend using reportgenerator 5.0 and later.