# Frama-C

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/frama-c/

5 people recommended Frama-C in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free static analysis and formal verification framework for C, with plugins that prove code free of undefined behavior; people call it among the best verification tools around.

Summary written by Claude from 6 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong formal verification tooling for C (3 comments in the sample): "between cbmc, frama-c and coccinelle there is hardly another language with comparable tooling" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47764815)) "Formal verification toolchains for C (Frama-C, seL4's setup, etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47868055)) "it gets some of the best formal verification tools around" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45953232))
- Plugins prove code free of undefined behavior (2 comments in the sample): "they don't compare to analyzers like Frama-C plugins, which demand further annotations/proofs if necessary to show code is free of UB" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45955139)) "or is integrated with specific programming languages like SPARK, Frama-C or this Verus" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49737475))

## Other static analyzers people recommend

- [zizmor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zizmor/): 13 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize
- [clang-tidy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/clang-tidy/): 12 recommend, 1 mixed, 3 criticize
- [PHPStan](https://hackerapproved.com/p/phpstan/): 8 recommend, 2 mixed, 0 criticize
- [SonarQube](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sonarqube/): 7 recommend, 3 mixed, 10 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Frama-C", https://hackerapproved.com/p/frama-c/ (5 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.