Sparse

Sparse, the semantic parser, is a compiler front end for ANSI C and many GCC extensions, with sample back ends including a static analyzer. Its annotations convey semantic information such as pointer address spaces or the locks a function acquires, and it was initially written to catch Linux kernel issues.

Started by Linus Torvalds in 2003, it is maintained in a Git repository on kernel.org, with changes in December 2025.