reference > Rule syntax

metavariable-type

See also

patterns, (TYPE $X)

An item of patterns. It keeps the matches where the expression bound to a metavariable has a given type. The value is a mapping:

• metavariable: the metavariable, bound by another item;
• type: the type, written as in the language of the rule. A short name such as Statement and a full name such as java.sql.Statement are both accepted;
• types, instead of type: a list of types; the expression may have any of them.

The type of a variable comes from its declaration, such as the type of a parameter. A typed metavariable expresses the same condition within a pattern.

## Examples

### execute on a JDBC statement

rules:  - id: statement-execute    patterns:      - pattern: $X.execute($Q)      - metavariable-type:          metavariable: $X          type: java.sql.Statement    message: raw SQL executed on a java.sql.Statement    languages: [java]    severity: WARNING

import java.sql.Statement;import java.util.concurrent.Executor;class Jobs {    void run(Statement stmt, Executor pool, String query, Runnable task) {        // ruleid: statement-execute        stmt.execute(query);        // ok: statement-execute        pool.execute(task);    }}

$ opengrep test .
1/1: ✓ All tests passed
No tests for fixes found.