SonarQube Cloud comparison for English behavior requirements

Catch the fix an agent removes later.

A saved requirement makes a recurring mistake checkable. In this Perch capture from September 20, 2026, the same rule flags a missing guard and passes after the guard is restored.

def refund(order, payment):
    payment.refund(order.total)
    order.status = "refunded"
    return order

def refund(order, payment):
    if order.status == "refunded":
        return order
    payment.refund(order.total)
    order.status = "refunded"
    return order

Source: public order-service checkout.py at the linked commit. The captured standalone file is refund.py. Perch command output and timestamp. This saved-rule demonstration does not measure SonarQube Cloud's detection rate.

Perch vs SonarQube Cloud: what your team runs.

Perch turns project behavior into focused checks that agents can run before committing. Use these differences to choose the review workflow and billing model your team needs.

SonarQube Cloud comparison for English behavior requirements

Use Perch to express application requirements that need semantic context alongside quality gates. Each saved ensure rule can target a project, file or method and run on uncommitted edits. Perch charges for fresh checks rather than the repository's licensed line count.

Review before committing

SonarQube Cloud: SonarScanner CLI runs in local and CI workflows. SonarQube Cloud workflow documentation.

Perch reads the current working file with perch check. For a known requirement, select its rule name and method instead of requesting another broad review. A local CLI describes where the command runs; Perch sends relevant source to hosted TypeSafe models for analysis.

How do saved requirements differ?

SonarQube Cloud: Quality profiles, configurable analyzer rules and quality gates. SonarQube Cloud rule documentation.

Perch stores English ensure rules in perch.yaml or .perch/rules/. Project, file and method scopes determine what is checked. Run the named check after an edit and after the repair; a rule finding can fail the command and a CI gate. Perch rules · Working-file checks.

What does the review bill depend on?

Compare SonarQube Cloud's billing unit and Perch's usage estimate

Is the CLI open source and offline?

SonarQube Cloud: Commercial Cloud; separate LGPLv3 Community Build. SonarQube Cloud product or license source.

Perch’s CLI is MIT-licensed; hosted model inference is a separate paid service included in its published check rate. It does not run the model offline. Unchanged requests can reuse cached answers for free. Fresh judgments can vary, and a passing requirement check does not prove application correctness. Perch MIT license.

When does SonarQube Cloud fit the workflow?

SonarQube Cloud provides static quality and security analysis with repository-size tiers. Its free plan may cover the project; repository lines and product coverage must be considered before comparing a paid bill.

Estimate the review bill

Perch and SonarQube Cloud: pricing, allowances and workload calculator

Make the agent check its next edit.

npm install -g @lakeday/perch

perch rules add refund-once \
  --where refund.py --each method \
  --ensure "Refunded orders cannot be refunded again."

perch check refund.py::refund --rules refund-once

Use perch scan for repository code at Git HEAD and changed-code CI checks for pull requests. New model judgments can vary. Repeatability comes from cached answers for unchanged requests; a pass does not prove application correctness.