Report Formats

covdbg stores coverage results in a .covdb database file. You can export coverage to industry-standard formats, or to a static HTML report, using the convert command.

Coverage Database

.covdb is covdbg's native format - a SQLite-based database containing detailed coverage information.

When to Use

• Primary storage for coverage results
• Input for the merge command
• Input for the convert command

Creating a .covdb

# Run coverage and save results
covdbg --output "results.covdb" "tests.exe"

---

LCOV Format

LCOV is a widely-supported text-based format used by many CI/CD systems and coverage viewers.

When to Use

• Uploading to Codecov, Coveralls, or similar services
• Integration with CI/CD pipelines
• Viewing in LCOV-compatible tools
• Text-based reports that can be diffed

File Structure

LCOV files contain:

• Source file information (SF:)
• Function coverage (FN:, FNDA:, FNF:, FNH:)
• Line coverage (DA:, LF:, LH:)
• Branch coverage (if available)

Converting to LCOV

covdbg convert --input "results.covdb" --format LCOV --output "coverage.lcov"

Short Form

covdbg convert -i results.covdb -f LCOV -o coverage.lcov

Example Output

TN:
SF:C:\project\src\main.cpp
FN:10,main
FNDA:1,main
FNF:1
FNH:1
DA:10,1
DA:11,1
DA:12,1
DA:15,0
LF:4
LH:3
end_of_record

---

GCOV Format

GCOV export produces one .gcov file per source file, compatible with GCC's coverage format.

When to Use

• Integration with tools expecting GCOV format
• Detailed per-file coverage reports
• When you need individual file coverage data

File Naming

For each source file foo.cpp, covdbg creates foo.cpp.gcov in the output directory.

Converting to GCOV

# Create output directory first
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "gcov-output"

# Convert
covdbg convert --input "results.covdb" --format GCOV --output "gcov-output\"

Short Form

mkdir gcov-output
covdbg convert -i results.covdb -f GCOV -o gcov-output\

Example Output

        -:    0:Source:C:\project\src\main.cpp
        -:    0:Programs:1
        1:   10:int main() {
        1:   11:    int x = 0;
        1:   12:    x++;
    #####:   15:    unreached_code();

Format:

• count:line:source where count is execution times
• - means non-executable line
• ##### means never executed

---

HTML Reports

The exporter produces a static report directory with line and function totals, file filtering, and source pages with execution counts and uncovered-line navigation:

covdbg convert --input results.covdb --format HTML --output coverage-html

Open coverage-html/index.html directly in a browser, or share the entire output directory. Reports include source text read at export time, so use the matching source revision and the same access controls as your source code.

Short Form

covdbg convert -i results.covdb -f HTML -o coverage-html

See HTML Reports for export options, source relocation, and publishing details.

---

Format Comparison

---

Workflow Examples

CI Pipeline with Codecov

# Run tests with coverage
covdbg --output coverage.covdb tests.exe

# Export to LCOV for Codecov
covdbg convert -i coverage.covdb -f LCOV -o coverage.lcov

# Upload (example with Codecov CLI)
codecov --file coverage.lcov

Merge Multiple Test Runs

# Run different test suites
covdbg --output unit.covdb unit_tests.exe
covdbg --output integration.covdb integration_tests.exe

# Merge results
covdbg merge -i unit.covdb -i integration.covdb -o merged.covdb

# Export merged coverage
covdbg convert -i merged.covdb -f LCOV -o coverage.lcov

---

See Also

• CLI Reference - Command documentation
• GitHub Actions - CI integration
• HTML Reports - Static browser reports