Skip to content

OPTIONAL_GET_CALL

Summary

  • Rule ID: OPTIONAL_GET_CALL
  • Name: Optional direct getter call
  • Problem: Calling Optional.get() / getAs*() directly can throw when the value is empty.

What This Rule Reports

This rule reports direct getter calls on Optional APIs in analysis target classes: - java/util/Optional.get() - java/util/OptionalInt.getAsInt() - java/util/OptionalLong.getAsLong() - java/util/OptionalDouble.getAsDouble()

Examples (reported)

package com.example;
import java.util.Optional;
public class ClassA {
    public String methodX() {
        Optional<String> varOne = Optional.empty();
        return varOne.get();
    }
}

package com.example;
import java.util.OptionalInt;
public class ClassB {
    public int methodY() {
        OptionalInt varOne = OptionalInt.empty();
        return varOne.getAsInt();
    }
}

What This Rule Does Not Report

  • Safer Optional APIs that handle empty explicitly (for example orElse, orElseThrow, ifPresent).
  • Direct getter calls inside a branch where non-empty is explicitly guaranteed (for example, inside if (varOne.isPresent()) { ... }).
  • Calls that appear only in classpath/dependency classes outside the analysis target.

Examples (not reported)

package com.example;
import java.util.Optional;
public class ClassC {
    public String methodZ() {
        Optional<String> varOne = Optional.empty();
        return varOne.orElse("fallback");
    }
}

package com.example;
import java.util.Optional;
public class ClassD {
    public String methodW(Optional<String> varOne) {
        if (varOne.isPresent()) {
            return varOne.get();
        }
        return "fallback";
    }
}

Replace direct getter calls with explicit empty handling, such as orElse, orElseThrow, or ifPresent.

Message Shape

Findings are reported as Avoid Optional direct getter in <class>.<method><descriptor>; use orElse/orElseThrow/ifPresent instead.