IntelliJ code analysis unable to recognise methods annotated by 3rd party annotations

Question

The code analysis feature in IntelliJ does not recognize methods that are invoked by JVM agents. This results in false positives in the IDE's issue detection. This happens even though the implementation of annotations is clean and achieved without suppressing warnings. Sample code:

import java.lang.annotation.*;

@Retention(RetentionPolicy.CLASS)
@Target({ElementType.TYPE, ElementType.METHOD, ElementType.CONSTRUCTOR})
public @interface @Bar
{
}

@Bar
public final class Foo {
}

How to ensure IntelliJ can acknowledge these methods as entry points for byte code manipulation?

Answer

This is currently not a default feature within IntelliJ. However, IntelliJ offers a workaround by allowing you to declare your own annotation and then add it under the Unused declaration inspection settings.

Follow the steps:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Move towards Editor.
3. In the editor settings, find Inspections.
4. In inspections, navigate to Entry points.
5. Finally, click on Annotations.

Alternatively, the user can use the intention to work around the issue.

This should help to reduce the amount of false positives reported in your inspections.